Papillary lesions of the breast: MRI, ultrasound, and mammographic appearances

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to describe the different imaging appearances of benign and malignant papillary lesions of the breast as well as to point out potential errors of interpretation that can lead to misdiagnosis. CONCLUSION: There is a wide spectrum of appearances of papillary lesions of the breast on MRI, ultrasound, and mammography. This variable appearance of papillary lesions makes differentiation of benign from malignant pathologies difficult on imaging, and tissue sampling is usually warranted.