Radial scar on mammography may appear as which of the following?

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Radial scars disrupt the normal breast architecture on mammography because they are fibrous centers with radiating strands. This causes the surrounding tissue to pull in irregular patterns, which is seen as architectural distortion. At times, the lesion resembles scar tissue itself, presenting as a scar-like opacity rather than a clearly distorted area. Because radial scars can look like either distortion or a scar, that combined description best captures the range of appearances. They are not typically a well-defined round or oval mass, which helps differentiate them from common benign masses like fibroadenomas. Remember, radial scars can mimic malignancy, so biopsy is often pursued to rule out associated atypia or cancer.