Volpara Debuts Enhanced Breast Imaging Metrics

Five artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms for mammography assessment were better at predicting breast cancer risk over five years than the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) risk model, according to new retrospective research involving over 13,000 women.

Nina Kottler, M.D., chief medical officer of AI at Radiology Partners, discusses, during RSNA 2020, what new developments the annual meeting provided about these technologies, sessions to access, and what to expect in the coming year.

In a study involving over 1,100 women diagnosed with breast cancer, researchers found that 48.7 percent of women alive or dead from other causes at a median follow-up of 11.7 years had moderately dense breasts. They also found that 46 percent of women who died from breast cancer at a median-follow-up of 5.3 years had moderately dense breasts.

Rich Heller, M.D., with Radiology Partners, and Lucy Spalluto, M.D., with Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, discuss the highlights of their RSNA 2020 session on health disparities, focusing on the underlying factors and challenges radiologists face to providing greater access to care.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has drawn praise for lowering the age threshold for initial mammography screening from 50 to 40 years of age in updated draft recommendations for breast cancer screening, but critics warn that biennial screening is not sufficient for higher-risk populations.

While calling for a universal breast cancer risk assessment by the age of 25, the American College of Radiology (ACR) emphasized that ascertaining screening needs prior to the age of 40 is particularly important in high-risk populations such as Black women, who are 42 percent more likely to die from breast cancer in comparison to non-Hispanic White women.