Association between mammographic features and clinicopathological characteristics in invasive ductal carcinoma of breast cancer

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between mammographic features and clinicopathological characteristics in invasive ductal carcinoma. A total of 231 patients were retrospectively reviewed from January, 2011 to December, 2012. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher's exact test, chi(2) test, Spearman's correlation and logistic regression, as appropriate. Of the 231 patients who underwent mammography, malignant calcifications were significantly more frequent in carcinomas that were human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive (P=0.001) or had a >2 cm size tumor (P=0.006). The pleomorphic-type was correlated with a p53-positive status (P=0.039) or lymph node metastasis (P=0.048), whereas the indistinct amorphous-type was associated with a HER2-positive status (P=0.026). An evident mass was frequently observed in higher Ki-67 expression-level tumors (P=0.002). In conclusion, the aforementioned correlations are noteworthy as they potentially reflect tumor attributes and may serve as a guide for treatment.