What causes target calcification in breast on mammography?
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Target calcification refers to concentric or ring-like calcifications resembling a target or bull’s-eye appearance on mammography, typically associated with benign processes such as degenerating fibroadenomas, fat necrosis, or post-treatment changes following surgery, radiation, or biopsy in breast tissue. These occur in conditions like prior breast cancer therapy or trauma-induced damage.
Why is it called so?:
It is named for its characteristic appearance of a central calcification surrounded by concentric rings, mimicking the bull’s-eye pattern of a shooting target.
Pathophysiology:
Calcification develops through dystrophic mineralization in damaged or necrotic breast tissue, where cellular debris, secretions, or fibrotic remnants undergo calcium deposition due to local inflammation and tissue injury, forming layered or rimmed structures visible as target shapes on imaging.
Alternative names: Bull’s-eye calcification, rim calcification
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