Digital imaging benefits women with dense breasts

An analysis of the multicenter results of the Digital Mammography Imaging Screen Trial has found that digital mammography outperforms screen-film mammography for women under 50 who have dense breasts.

DMIST, sponsored by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network, enrolled 49,528 women at 33 centers in the U.S. and Canada who underwent both digital and film mammography. Breast cancer status was determined for 42,760 women. Findings showed an improved diagnostic accuracy for digital mammography over film for pre- and perimenopausal women under 50 years old with dense breasts. The results appear in the February issue of Radiology.

"This paper confirms that if you are under 50, pre- or perimenopausal, and have dense breasts, you should be screened with digital rather than film," said lead investigator Dr. Etta D. Pisano, a radiologist at the University of North of Carolina at Chapel Hill.