Breast calcification plays an important role in breast cancer in various areas

such as early-stage diagnosis

recurrence monitoring and prognosis prediction. However

the mechanism of breast calcifications remains elusive. One proposed mechanism is based on an imbalance between the enhancers and inhibitors of physiological mineralization. Traditionally

the classification of breast calcification is based on the assessment of morphology and distribution. These radiology features are closely related to pathology and biological behavior of tumor. However

chemical composition of calcifications can provide us with more information about tumor status. Calcifications could be divided into two categories according to chemical composition. Type I (calcium oxalate) is found in benign breast disease

while type Ⅱ (hydroxyapatite) is found in proliferative lesions

mostly to be associated with malignancy. Moreover

carbonate concentrations in type Ⅱ calcifications is related to pathology grades. Despite emerging imaging technologies such as digital breast tomosynthesis

they are unable to yield any information on chemical composition of breast calcifications and thus cannot provide a definitive marker for classifying benign and malignant lesions. Recent researches show that using Raman spectroscopy

the chemical information of calcification could be obtained noninvasively and might provide us with a better mode for calcification diagnosis in the future.