What are the causes of abnormal calcifications on a mammogram?

Cell debris, cell secretions, trauma and inflammation in a woman’s breast can cause abnormal calcifications on a mammogram, states Mayo Clinic. They also occur as a result of normal aging, according to WebMD. Dietary calcium does not cause breast calcifications.

Breast calcifications are tiny calcium deposits that grow in a woman’s breast tissue. Doctors classify breast calcifications as benign if they are considered harmless; probably benign if they have less than 2 percent chance of being cancer; and suspicious if they might either be benign or an early indicator of cancer, notes WebMD. To diagnose suspicious calcifications, doctors order a biopsy to examine the breast tissue for cancer cells.

Breast calcifications have no symptoms and are too small to be identified during a normal breast exam, explains WebMD.