Modeling of the Calcium/Phosphorus Mass ratio for Breast Imaging

Breast microcalcifications are mainly composed of calcite (CaCO3), calcium oxalate (CaC2O4) and apatite (a calcium-phosphate mineral form). Any pathologic alteration (carcinogenesis) of the breast may produce apatite. In the present simulation study, an analytical model was implemented in order to distinguish malignant and non-malignant lesions. The Calcium/Phosphorus (Ca/P) mass ratio and the standard deviation (SD) of the calcifications were calculated. The size of the calcifications ranged from 100 to 1000 μm, in 50 μm increments. The simulation was performed for hydroxyapatite, calcite and calcium oxalate calcifications. The optimum pair of energies for all calcifications was 22keV and 50keV. Hydroxyapatite and calcite calcifications were sufficiently characterized through their distinct confidence interval (99.7%, 3SD) values for calcifications sizes above 500 μm, while the corresponding sizes for hydroxyapatite and calcium oxalate characterization were found above 250 μm. Initial computer simulation results indicate that the proposed method can be used in breast cancer diagnosis, reducing the need for invasive methods, such as biopsies.