Digital breast tomosynthesis for breast cancer screening reduces recall rates and biopsies, and detects more cancers.
Using digital breast tomosynthesis to screen for breast cancer significantly reduces recalls and increases detection rates, according to a study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.
Researchers undertook an observational study to evaluate verified practice- and outcome-related databases to compute and compare recall, biopsy, and cancer detection rates, as well as positive predictive values for six radiologists who interpreted the images. The research was led by Stephen Rose, MD, president and founder of Rose Imaging and medical director of TOPS Comprehensive Breast Center in Houston, Texas, using Hologic’s 3D mammography system.
A total of 13,856 women received 2D screening mammography studies without tomosynthesis and 9,499 women had both 2D and 3D mammography.
Results showed that recall rates dropped when tomosynthesis was used among all six radiologists. The recall rate for mammography alone was 8.7 percent, but only 5.5 percent when tomosynthesis was added. PPV for recalls rose to 10.1 percent with tomosynthesis, compared with 4.7 without.
Other findings showed that the number of biopsies among women in the DBT group dropped to 13.5 biopsies per 1,000 screenings compared with 15.2 biopsies in the 2D-only group. Cancer detection was also better within the DBT group, which was 5.4 per 1,000 screenings compared to the other group’s 4.0 per 1,000. In addition, the invasive cancer detection rate increased from 2.8 to 4.3 per 1000 screening examinations. The positive predictive value for recalls increased from 4.7 percent to 10.1 percent.
The authors concluded that in terms of their practice, using breast tomosynthesis “was associated with a significant reduction in recall rates and a simultaneous increase in breast cancer detection rates.”
These findings were consistent with those of the so-called Oslo trial, published in January in the journal Radiology.
Mammography and Breast MRI: Is it Time to Evaluate Strategies as Opposed to Modalities?
July 5th 2024The combination of mammography with breast MRI within 90 days had a 96.2 percent sensitivity in comparison to 48.1 percent for mammography and 79.7 percent for breast MRI performed within 91 to 270 days after index mammography, according to newly published research.
ACR Collaborative Model Leads to 35 Percent Improvement with Mammography Positioning Criteria
July 1st 2024Noting significant variation with facilities for achieving passing criteria for mammography positioning, researchers found that structured interventions, ranging from weekly auditing of images taken by technologists to mechanisms for feedback from radiologists to technologists, led to significant improvements in a multicenter study.