Abstract
The guidelines for breast ultrasound diagnosis 1st edition were published by the Japan Association of Breast and Thyroid Sonology (JABTS) in 2004. The Guidelines promoted standardization of the breast ultrasound terms or concepts of breast ultrasound diagnosis for breast diseases in Japan. Since the publishing of the Guidelines, a breast ultrasound training course has been held by the educational committee of JABTS.The Guidelines introduce fundamentals of breast ultrasound such as ultrasound equipment suitable for breast imaging, the pathology of breast diseases, ultrasonic tissue characterization, breast ultrasoundterminology, diagnostic concepts, flow imaging, elastography, the concept and typical images of each lesion, and screening ultrasound.The most unique concept in these Guidelines is non-mass abnormalities.Advances in imaging technology enabled the recognition of breast cancer lesions difficult to recognize as a mass. The JABTS defined such lesions as non-mass abnormalities. Most of these cancers are ductal carcinoma in situ, and these lesions show abnormality of the ducts or a hypoechoic area in the mammary gland or architectural distortion on ultrasound. A recall criteria in screening ultrasound for breast masses explained in the Guidelines is useful for understanding the basic concept of diagnosis of breast masses. The Guidelines were primarily written based on the consensus of experts. It is important to gradually change these Guidelines so that they are based on sufficient evidence in the future.
