Mammary nodules as incidental findings on chest computed tomography: a retrospective analysis on their frequency and predictive value.

Purpose: To evaluate the frequency of mammary nodules as incidental findings on chest CT scans and to determine a correlation between semiological features and mammographic and histopathological outcomes.

Methods: A total of 42,864 chest CT scans performed on patients with breast-unrelated working diagnoses by the Radiology Department at AOU Maggiore della Carità, between 1st January 2016 and 30th April 2022, were analysed. Sixty-eight patients (3 males and 65 females) with mammary nodule CT detection were selected and subjected to mammography, mammary ultrasound and, eventually, biopsy.