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The Mammography section is a comprehensive resource for diagnostic imaging news and expert insights on Mammography. Read more at Diagnostic Imaging.

Mammography | Clinical News & Insights | Diagnostic Imaging

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 mammography modality focus page provides information, videos, podcasts, and the latest news about industry product developments, trial results, screening guidelines, and protocol guidance that touch on the use of mammography, including 2D digital mammography, digital breast tomosynthesis, and breast ultrasound.

For breast cancer detection, Habib Rahbar, M.D., said it’s well established in the literature that vascular-based studies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) provide more optimal sensitivity in comparison to X-ray based or anatomic-based studies. During a recent 

, Dr. Rahbar noted tradeoffs between breast MRI and CEM.

“We know that CEM or contrast enhanced mammography is probably a little bit more specific than MRI (with a) little fewer false positives, but at a cost of a little bit of a sensitivity hit. That's probably due to the fact that the conspicuity of some of the lesions is not quite as dramatic on CEM,” maintained Dr. Rahbar, a professor and executive vice chair of radiology at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

“ … (For an additional breast cancer screening test), I still prefer MRI because I think it's the best tool that we have. But CEM and other contrast-based approaches have a real role too, because there could potentially be improved access and might be cheaper for us to implement in some areas as well.”

, Stamatia Destounis, M.D., noted that a standardized protocol for abbreviated breast MRI remains elusive. While Emily Conant, M.D., acknowledged studies that shows T2-weighted MRI impacts outcomes less than five percent of the time, all of the panelists emphasized the value of T2-weighted imaging for increasing the specificity of abbreviated breast MRI.

While emphasizing “remarkable” cancer detection with abbreviated breast MRI, standardized reimbursement will likely be the key driver for implementation, according to Dr. Conant, a professor emeritus with the Department of Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. However, Dr. Destounis expressed concern that evaluation of abbreviated breast MRI for CPT coding may trigger a negative re-evaluation of full breast MRI.

“The concern is that this may turn out to be kind of a hit all across the board for many of us that have breast MRI practices in an outpatient, private setting. And I can tell you it's not a money maker. We're just breaking even because we don't get the high reimbursement from that full (breast MRI) protocol. So I think that there's some concern there about what a new CPT code may look like for us,” noted Dr. Destounis, the managing partner of Elizabeth Wende Breast Care in Rochester, New York, and chair of the American College of Radiology’s Breast Imaging Commission.

(Editor’s note: For related content, see “

The Reading Room Podcast: Current and Emerging Insights on Abbreviated Breast MRI, Part 1

Possible Real-Time Adaptive Approach to Breast MRI Suggests ‘New Era’ of AI-Directed MRI

Abbreviated MRI and Contrast-Enhanced Mammography Provide Fourfold Higher Cancer Detection than Breast Ultrasound

For more insights from Dr. Destounis, Dr. Conant and Dr. Rahbar, listen below or 

In the second part of a multi-part podcast episode, Stamatia Destounis, MD, Emily Conant, MD and Habib Rahbar, MD, discuss key sequences for abbreviated breast MRI and how it stacks up to other breast cancer screening modalities. 

The Reading Room Podcast: Current and Emerging Insights on Abbreviated Breast MRI, Part 2

, Anand Narayan, M.D., and Amy Patel, M.D., offer their perspectives on the challenges faced by radiologists — who are already grappling with increasingly high volume worklists and radiologist shortages — in implementing expanded breast cancer screening as per recently updated recommendations from the 

United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)

For breast cancer risk assessments, Dr. Patel said another challenge is that not all facilities have access to high-risk breast clinics or genetics programs, limitations that often fall upon the shoulders of breast imaging centers. Dr. Patel noted that artificial intelligence (AI) and possible implementation of a risk-based model with AI may have potential for facilitating appropriate triaging of patients.

In regard to practical steps radiologists can take to help raise awareness of new recommendations to help address disparities in breast cancer screening, Dr. Patel emphasized the importance of an ongoing dialogue with primary care providers.

“Keeping the lines of communication open with your referring providers is paramount. When new recommendations come down the pike, we as a breast imaging community really need to take it upon ourselves to educate our referring providers,” noted Dr. Patel, the medical director of the Liberty Hospital Breast Care Center in Kansas City and an assistant professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

New Research Shows Consequences of Delayed Diagnosis in Mammography Screening

The Reading Room Podcast: Emerging Concepts in Breast Cancer Screening and Health Equity Implications, Part 2

The Reading Room Podcast: Emerging Concepts in Breast Cancer Screening and Health Equity Implications, Part 1

For more insights from Dr. Narayan and Dr. Patel, listen below or 

In the third episode of a three-part podcast, Anand Narayan, M.D., Ph.D., and Amy Patel, M.D., discuss the challenges of expanded breast cancer screening amid a backdrop of radiologist shortages and ever-increasing volume on radiology worklists. 

The Reading Room Podcast: Emerging Concepts in Breast Cancer Screening and Health Equity Implications, Part 3

, Anand Narayan, M.D., and Amy Patel, M.D., offer their perspectives and insights on recently published research that suggested the adoption of a risk-adapted model for breast cancer screening.

multicenter study of over one million women in China

 suggested optimal starting ages for screening mammography at 43 for women of high breast cancer risk and after 55 years of age for those deemed to be at low risk of breast cancer.

Another study, published in April 2023, looked at 

data from breast cancer-specific deaths in over 400,000 women

 and suggested that optimal initiation of breast cancer screening should begin at 42 years of age in Black women with White women starting at 51, Indian women and Hispanic women starting at 57 and Asian and Pacific Islander women starting at 61.

In the podcast, Drs. Narayan and Patel discuss complex issues with adopting a risk-adapted model for breast cancer screening, key challenges with implementation and whether this model would reduce or possibly exacerbate disparities with health equity.

“I think it’s great that these authors are bringing some of this data to light and I think it could help inform some of our clinical practice, but I think we need to have caution in terms of clinical implementation and potentially fostering inequities by using race-based science,” noted Dr. Narayan, the vice-chair of equity in the Department of Radiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Should Race and Ethnicity Factor into Starting Ages for Mammography Screening?

In the second episode of a three-part podcast, Anand Narayan, M.D., Ph.D., and Amy Patel, M.D., discuss recent studies published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that suggested moving to more of a risk-adapted model for mammography screening. 

, Anand Narayan, M.D., and Amy Patel, M.D., offer their perspectives and insights on the possible impact of recent breast cancer screening recommendations from the 

(Editor's note: For related content, see "

The Reading Room: Emerging Concepts in Breast Cancer Screening and Health Equity Implications, Part 2

In the first episode of a three-part series, Anand Narayan, M.D., Ph.D., and Amy Patel, M.D., discuss recently issued updates to breast cancer screening recommendations from the American College of Radiology and the United States Preventive Services Task Force and potential implications for health equity.

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_crop","fid":"11554","attributes":{"alt":"Stephen Rose","class":"media-image media-image-left","id":"media_crop_8501769795264","media_crop_h":"0","media_crop_image_style":"-1","media_crop_instance":"218","media_crop_rotate":"0","media_crop_scale_h":"0","media_crop_scale_w":"0","media_crop_w":"0","media_crop_x":"0","media_crop_y":"0","style":"margin: 5px; float: left;","title":" ","typeof":"foaf:Image"}}]]In February 2011, the FDA approved the first X-ray mammography system that provides 3-D images for breast cancer screening and diagnosis, 

. The 3-D tomosynthesis is being offered in fewer than two dozen locations in the U.S., and among them is Houston Breast Imaging in Texas.

In this podcast, Stephen Rose, MD, president and CEO of Houston Breast Imaging and a principal investigator of the 3-D tomosynthesis clinical trials in 2010, discusses the benefits of the new technology and what his practice learned when implementing the screening program. .

In this podcast, Stephen Rose, MD, president and CEO of Houston Breast Imaging and a principal investigator of the 3-D tomosynthesis clinical trials in 2010, discusses the benefits of the new technology and what his practice learned when implementing the screening program.

Podcast: Breast Tomosynthesis - One Practice's Experience

In this podcast, Tom Gentile, president and CEO at GE Healthcare Systems, explains that “the whole focus of imaging is moving beyond the quality of the image.” Patient care, physician productivity and reimbursement take on a renewed focus in light of healthcare reform efforts internationally, he says. Such issues will be the focus for GE Healthcare Systems at RSNA 2011.

, CT using Model Based Iterative Reconstruction (MBIR) technology to reduce dose and improve image quality.

Contrast-enhanced spectral mammography will also be a focus at RSNA 2011 for GE. Gentile talks about the speed and specificity of its newly approved product 

as well as newly mobile ultrasound technology,

, that makes ultrasound “the stethescope of the future.”

In this podcast, Tom Gentile, president and CEO at GE Healthcare Systems, explains that “the whole focus of imaging is moving beyond the quality of the image.” Patient care, physician productivity and reimbursement take on a renewed focus in light of healthcare reform efforts internationally, he says.

Podcast: GE on MBIR, Spectral Mammography, Ultrasound and Themes for RSNA 2011

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_crop","fid":"1735","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","id":"media_crop_7567161365917","media_crop_h":"0","media_crop_image_style":"-1","media_crop_instance":"201","media_crop_rotate":"0","media_crop_scale_h":"0","media_crop_scale_w":"0","media_crop_w":"0","media_crop_x":"0","media_crop_y":"0","title":" ","typeof":"foaf:Image"}}]]Imagine a fast, inexpensive method for breast cancer screening. That’s some of the promise behind a new innovation from a doctoral student who has discovered a way to use ultrasound and advanced algorithms to differentiate between benign and malignant tumors.

, a student at the department of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, researched nonlinear elasticity imaging for breast cancer diagnosis. Here Geonezen and his faculty advisor, Assad Oberai, discuss this innovation and what it could mean for breast cancer diagnosis, as well as diagnosis of other diseases.

Imagine a faster, inexpensive method for breast cancer screening. That’s some of the promise behind a new innovation from doctoral student, Sevan Goenezen, who has discovered a way to use ultrasound and advanced algorithms to differentiate between benign and malignant tumors.

Podcast: Student Innovation Holds Promise for Breast Cancer Screening

The combination of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and molecular breast imaging (MBI) offered more than double the detection of invasive breast cancer with DBT in the first year of screening, according to a prospective study of nearly 3,000 women with dense breasts.

Can Supplemental Molecular Breast Imaging Enhance Breast Cancer Detection in Women with Dense Breasts?

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and synthesized mammography offered a true-positive recall rate of 8.4 per 1,000 women screened vs. 6.2 for digital mammography alone, according to a study involving over 99,000 women.

Study Shows Higher Recall PPV and Lower False-Positive Recall Rate with Combination of DBT and Synthesized Mammography

While the AI software offered nearly equivalent negative predictive value (NPV) to radiologist interpretation of digital mammograms and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) images, researchers noted that AI had significantly higher recall rates and false-positive results in patients with intermediate risk.

Large Mammography Study Shows Mixed Results with AI in Breast Cancer Screening

A model combining deep learning features and clinical variables demonstrated a 30 percent higher AUC than a clinical model for detecting DCIS and invasive ductal carcinoma from suspicious microcalcifications on mammography, according to a new study.

Can AI Assessment of Microcalcifications on Mammography Improve Differentiation of DCIS and Invasive Ductal Carcinoma?

Over 26 percent of AI-detected future breast cancers and interval breast cancers missed by radiologists were invasive cancers, according to newly published research involving over 42,000 women who had 2D screening mammography.

Large Mammography Study Affirms Value of AI in Breast Cancer Detection

’s Weekly Scan, which offers an opportunity to catch up on the most well-viewed radiology content of the past week.

New research, published earlier this week in 

MRI-based pancreatic risk stratification model (M-PRiSM)

 offers enhanced prognostic insight into postoperative survival for patients being treated for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

In a prospective study, recently published in the 

, researchers found that deep learning image reconstruction (DLIR) may facilitate up to a 

45 percent reduction in radiation dosing with dual-energy computed tomography (DECT)

Speaking of radiation dosing, in a recent interview with 

, Dr. Rebecca Smith-Bindman discussed a new study, published in the 

impact of cumulative radiation exposure from medical imaging upon hematologic cancer risk in children

In a new 67-study meta-analysis published in 

PSMA PET offered significantly higher accuracy in detecting biochemical recurrence (BCR), lymph node metastasis and bone metastasis

 in comparison to multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) and computed tomography (CT).

combination of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and molecular breast imaging (MBI)

 offered more than double the detection of invasive breast cancer with DBT in the first year of screening, according to a prospective study of nearly 3,000 women with dense breasts.

Diagnostic Imaging's Weekly Scan is your chance to catch up on the latest radiology content, from new research and device news to the latest interviews and conference reports. 

Diagnostic Imaging's Weekly Scan: September 21 — September 27

Catch up on the top radiology content of the past week.

Welcome to Diagnostic Imaging’s Weekly Scan, which offers an opportunity to catch up on the most well-viewed radiology content of the past week.

In light of emerging research suggesting an 

increased incidence of breast cancer among women under the age of 40

, Drs. Jean Seely, MD, Zeeshan Shah, MD and Amy Patel, MD, discussed what they’re seeing in practice and emphasized increased vigilance to facilitate early detection.

In a new retrospective study published earlier this week in the 

the impact of radiation exposure from medical imaging

 in a cohort of over 3.7 million children. They estimated that radiation exposure from imaging may be associated with 10.1 percent of hematologic cancers in this patient population.

, Drs. Noa Antonissen and Colin Jacobs discussed new research suggesting that a CT-based deep learning model may facilitate 

a nearly 40 percent reduction in false positives with indeterminate lung nodules

Multiple nuclear medicine societies, including the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, unveiled 

guidelines this week for PET myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI)

. Check out our takeaways from the new recommendations on appropriate protocols and keys for interpretation of PET MPI.

In a new breast ultrasound study focusing on BI-RADS category 4 and 5 mass presentations, researchers noted that the 

 had an 81 to 85 percent specificity for malignancy.

Diagnostic Imaging's Weekly Scan is your chance to catch up on the latest radiology content, from new research and device news to the latest conference reports.

Diagnostic Imaging's Weekly Scan: September 14 — September 20

Is breast cancer incidence rising among women under the age of 40?

Recent research demonstrated a 7 percent increase of invasive breast cancer between 2004 and 2017 for women under 40 years of age.

 Another study, published in 2024, found over a three percent annual increase in breast cancer incidence since 2001 for women between 20 to 29 years of age and a 1.25 percent annual increase from 2009 for women 30 to 39 years of age.

“We're seeing this every day in practice. You know, it's not uncommon for me to diagnose a breast cancer in a woman who is 26 whereas 20 years ago, we almost never saw this. It was very rare,” said Jean Seely, M.D., the lead author of the aforementioned 2024 study, a professor in the Department of Radiology at Ottawa University and head of the Breast Imaging Section in the Department of Medical Imaging at Ottawa Hospital.

Given this emerging trend, Zeeshan Shah, M.D., said there needs to be mindset change for radiologists as well as referring care providers away from the notion that breast cancer is limited to older patient populations.

“We've set up everything that we do to really kind of guide an older patient population. You know, we still stand by that mantra, start at 40 and screen every year from there on, based on what the (American College of Radiology) ACR and the Society of Breast Imaging says, but certainly, we have seen that younger population kind of come in with breast cancers that are unexpected,” noted Dr. Shah, the president of Elite Breast Imaging. “ … We are seeing cancers earlier. The incidence is increasing so you do have to have a little bit more vigilance about it.”

Amy Patel, M.D., concurred about the emerging trend of breast cancer incidence in younger women. While noting that the proposed Find It Early Act legislation may provide coverage for women under 40 with a high risk of breast cancer, Dr. Patel called for more research to address potential gaps in screening for younger women with average to intermediate risk.

“There's just still research to be done, particularly in those populations with your average to intermediate risk and younger than the age of 40. We really need to explore research and then see what we can do to support those patients to make sure that they receive the access to care that they need appropriately,” maintained Dr. Patel, the medical director of the Liberty Hospital Breast Care Center in Kansas City.

Can Contrast-Enhanced Mammography be a Viable Screening Alternative to Breast MRI?

Do the New USPSTF Recommendations Go Far Enough on Mammography Screening?

A Closer look at the Impact of Expanded Mammography Coverage in Missouri: An Interview with Amy Patel, MD

For more insights from Drs. Patel, Seely and Shah, watch the video below.

In light of emerging research suggesting an increased incidence of breast cancer among women under the age of 40, breast radiologists discuss what they’re seeing in practice and emphasize increased vigilance to facilitate early detection.

Leading Breast Radiologists Discuss Rise of Breast Cancer Incidence in Women Under 40

Kehm RD, Yang W, Tehranifar P, Terry MB, 40 years of change in age- and stage-specific cancer incidence rates in US women and men. 

 2019;10(3):pkz038. Doi: 10.1093.jncics/pkz038. eCollection 2019 Sep.

2. Acheampong T, Kehm RD, Terry MB, Argov EL, Tehranifar P. Incidence trends of breast cancer molecular subtypes by age and race/ethnicity in the US from 2010 to 2016. 

3. Seely JM, Ellison LF, Billette JM, Zhang SX, Wilkinson AN. Incidence of breast cancer in younger women: a Canadian trend analysis. 

In light of emerging research suggesting an increased incidence of breast cancer among women under the age of 40, breast radiologists discuss what they’re seeing in practice and emphasize increased vigilance to facilitate early detection.



While there has been a fair amount of hype about whole-body MRI, a 

 found the modality had a pooled cancer detection rate of 1.57 percent in asymptomatic individuals. The meta-analysis authors also noted that many of the reviewed studies had incomplete data with respect to follow-up and diagnostic outcomes.

While maintaining that artificial intelligence (AI) for breast imaging is at an “infancy” stage, Zeeshan Shah, M.D., noted in a recent 

a pathway where AI has increased capability of pinpointing negative mammography exams

, enabling radiologists to spend significantly more time on cases that are more ambiguous and concerning.

In other breast imaging news, a new study published in the 

 compared AI software to radiologist interpretation for digital mammography (DM) and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). The researchers found that 

AI offered comparable negative predictive value (NPV) but significantly higher recall rates and false positive results as well

In a cohort of over 8,700 current and former smokers, the authors of a new study in 

found that coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring derived from non-gated low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) scans demonstrated significant capability for 

predicting long-term cardiovascular disease mortality up to 25 years

, pediatric cardiologist Takeshi Tsuda discussed 

integrated wall stress, a product of peak systolic wall stress (PS-WS) calculated with M-mode echocardiography as well as heart rate

. Citing recently published research, Dr. Tsuda said integrated wall stress could be a key marker of pre-clinical cardiomyopathy in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

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