Fewer Recalls with Synthesized Mammography Plus Digital Breast Tomosynthesis

Synthesized mammography (SM) with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) lowers recall rate, according to a study published in the journal Academic Radiology.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., and the University of Wisconsin in Madison sought to evaluate the screening performance of DBT combined with SM versus combined with full-field digital mammography (FFDM).

The researchers retrospectively reviewed 7,745 screening studies utilizing FFDM plus DBT and 14,776 with SM plus DBT. They compared recall rate, biopsy rate, positive predictive value 1 (PPV1), positive predictive value 3 (PPV3), and cancer detection rate (CDR) between the two groups.

The results showed the overall recall rate was 7.06 percent in the SM + DBT cohort, which was significantly lower compared to 7.63 percent in the FFDM + DBT cohort. There was no difference in biopsy rate, PPV1, PPV3, or CDR between the two groups.

The researchers concluded that their findings support the use of SM for patients undergoing screening with DBT.