Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is emerging as the standard of care for breast imaging based on improvements in both screening and diagnostic imaging outcomes. The additional information obtained ...from the tomosynthesis acquisition decreases the confounding effect of overlapping tissue, allowing for improved lesion detection, characterization, and localization. In addition, the quasi three-dimensional information obtained from the reconstructed DBT data set allows a more efficient imaging work-up than imaging with two-dimensional full-field digital mammography alone. Herein, the authors review the benefits of DBT imaging in screening and diagnostic breast imaging.
The diagnosis and management of breast cancer are undergoing a paradigm shift from a one-size-fits-all approach to an era of personalized medicine. Sophisticated diagnostics, including molecular ...imaging and genomic expression profiles, enable improved tumor characterization. These diagnostics, combined with newer surgical techniques and radiation therapies, result in a collaborative multidisciplinary approach to minimizing recurrence and reducing treatment-associated morbidity. This article reviews the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, including screening, staging, and multidisciplinary management.
Purpose To evaluate the early implementation of synthesized two-dimensional (s2D) mammography in a population screened entirely with s2D and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) (referred to as ...s2D/DBT) and compare recall rates and cancer detection rates to historic outcomes of digital mammography combined with DBT (referred to as digital mammography/DBT) screening. Materials and Methods This was an institutional review board-approved and HIPAA-compliant retrospective interpretation of prospectively acquired data with waiver of informed consent. Compared were recall rates, biopsy rates, cancer detection rates, and radiation dose for 15 571 women screened with digital mammography/DBT from October 1, 2011, to February 28, 2013, and 5366 women screened with s2D/DBT from January 7, 2015, to June 30, 2015. Two-sample z tests of equal proportions were used to determine statistical significance. Results Recall rate for s2D/DBT versus digital mammography/DBT was 7.1% versus 8.8%, respectively (P < .001). Biopsy rate for s2D/DBT versus digital mammography/DBT decreased (1.3% vs 2.0%, respectively; P = .001). There was no significant difference in cancer detection rate for s2D/DBT versus digital mammography/DBT (5.03 of 1000 vs 5.45 of 1000, respectively; P = .72). The average glandular dose was 39% lower in s2D/DBT versus digital mammography/DBT (4.88 mGy vs 7.97 mGy, respectively; P < .001). Conclusion Screening with s2D/DBT in a large urban practice resulted in similar outcomes compared with digital mammography/DBT imaging. Screening with s2D/DBT allowed for the benefits of DBT with a decrease in radiation dose compared with digital mammography/DBT.
RSNA, 2016 An earlier incorrect version of this article appeared online. This article was corrected on August 11, 2016.
Conventional breast MRI is highly sensitive for cancer detection but prompts some false positives. We performed a prospective, multicenter study to determine whether apparent diffusion coefficients ...(ADCs) from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) can decrease MRI false positives.
A total of 107 women with MRI-detected BI-RADS 3, 4, or 5 lesions were enrolled from March 2014 to April 2015. ADCs were measured both centrally and at participating sites. ROC analysis was employed to assess diagnostic performance of centrally measured ADCs and identify optimal ADC thresholds to reduce unnecessary biopsies. Lesion reference standard was based on either definitive biopsy result or at least 337 days of follow-up after the initial MRI procedure.
Of 107 women enrolled, 67 patients (median age 49, range 24-75 years) with 81 lesions with confirmed reference standard (28 malignant, 53 benign) and evaluable DWI were analyzed. Sixty-seven of 81 lesions were BI-RADS 4 (
= 63) or 5 (
= 4) and recommended for biopsy. Malignancies exhibited lower mean in centrally measured ADCs (mm
/s) than benign lesions 1.21 × 10
vs.1.47 × 10
;
< 0.0001; area under ROC curve = 0.75; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65-0.84. In centralized analysis, application of an ADC threshold (1.53 × 10
mm
/s) lowered the biopsy rate by 20.9% (14/67; 95% CI, 11.2%-31.2%) without affecting sensitivity. Application of a more conservative threshold (1.68 × 10
mm
/s) to site-measured ADCs reduced the biopsy rate by 26.2% (16/61) but missed three cancers.
DWI can reclassify a substantial fraction of suspicious breast MRI findings as benign and thereby decrease unnecessary biopsies. ADC thresholds identified in this trial should be validated in future phase III studies.
Although mammography is the standard of care for breast cancer screening, dense breast tissue decreases mammographic sensitivity. We report the prevalent cancer detection rate (CDR) from the first ...clinical implementation of abbreviated breast magnetic resonance imaging (AB-MR) as a supplemental screening test in women with dense breasts.
The study was approved by the institutional review board and is Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act complaint. This retrospective review includes women who were imaged between January 1, 2016 and February 28, 2019. On a 1.5 Tesla magnet, the imaging protocol consisted of three sequences: Short-TI Inversion Recovery (STIR), precontrast, and postcontrast. A subtraction sequence and a maximum intensity projection were generated. We report the patient-level CDR and the positive predictive value of AB-MR examinations after negative/benign digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT).
Out of 511 prevalent rounds of AB-MR examinations, 36 women were excluded. The remaining 475 asymptomatic women with dense breasts had negative/benign DBT examinations before the AB-MR. There were 420 of 475 (88.4%) benign/negative examinations, 13 of 475 (2.7%) follow-up recommendations, and 42 biopsy recommendations. Thirty-nine biopsies were completed, resulting in 12/39 (30.8%) malignancies in 12 women: seven invasive carcinomas and five ductal carcinoma in situ. One additional patient was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma at the time of 6-month follow-up. The CDR was 27.4 per 1,000 (13 of 475; 95% CI, 16.1 to 46.3). The size of invasive carcinomas ranged from 0.6-1.0 cm (mean, 0.5 cm). Of the seven women who underwent surgical evaluation of the axilla, zero of seven patients had positive nodes. There were no interval cancers at 1-year follow-up.
Preliminary results from clinical implementation of screening AB-MR resulted in a CDR of 27.4/1,000 at the patient level after DBT in women with dense breasts. Additional evaluation is warranted.
Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (DWI) has shown promise for improving the positive predictive value of breast MR imaging for detection of breast cancer, evaluating tumor response ...to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and as a noncontrast alternative to MR imaging in screening for breast cancer. However, data quality varies widely. Before implementing DWI into clinical practice, one must understand the pertinent technical considerations and current evidence regarding clinical applications of breast DWI. This article provides an overview of basic principles of DWI, optimization of breast DWI protocols, imaging features of benign and malignant breast lesions, promising clinical applications, and potential future directions.
Breast cancer screening with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) combined with digital mammography (DM) decreases false-positive examinations and increases cancer detection compared with screening ...with DM alone. However, the longitudinal performance of DBT screening is unknown.
To determine whether the improved outcomes observed after initial implementation of DBT screening are sustainable over time at a population level and to evaluate the effect of more than 1 DBT screening at the individual level.
Retrospective analysis of screening mammography metrics was performed for all patients presenting for screening mammography in an urban, academic breast center during 4 consecutive years (DM, year 0; DBT, years, 1-3). The study was conducted from September 1, 2010, to September 30, 2014 (excluding September 2011, which was the transition period from DM to DBT), for a total of 44 468 screening events attributable to a total of 23 958 unique women. Differences in screening outcomes between each DBT year and the DM year, as well as between groups of women with only 1, 2, or 3 DBT screenings, were assessed, and the odds of recall adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, breast density, and prior mammograms were estimated. Data analysis was performed between February 16 and October 26, 2015.
Digital mammography screening supplemented with DBT.
Recall rates, cancer cases per recalled patients, and biopsy and interval cancer rates were determined.
Screening outcome metrics were evaluated for a total of 44 468 examinations attributable to 23 958 unique women (mean SD age, 56.8 11.0 years) over a 4-year period: year 0 cohort (DM0), 10 728 women; year 1 cohort (DBT1), 11 007; year 2 cohort (DBT2), 11 157; and year 3 cohort (DBT3), 11 576. Recall rates rose slightly for years 1 to 3 of DBT (88, 90, and 92 per 1000 screened, respectively) but remained significantly reduced compared with the DM0 rate of 104 per 1000 screened. Reported as odds ratios (95% CIs), the findings were DM vs DBT1, 0.83 (0.76-0.91, P < .001); DM vs DBT2, 0.85 (0.78-0.93, P < .001); and DM vs DBT3, 0.87 (0.80-0.95, P = .003). The cancer cases per recalled patients continued to rise from DM0 rate of 4.4% to 6.2% (P = .06), 6.5% (P = .03), and 6.7% (P = .02) for years 1 to 3 of DBT, respectively. Outcomes assessed for the most recent screening for individual women undergoing only 1, 2, or 3 DBT screenings during the study period demonstrated decreasing recall rates of 130, 78, and 59 per 1000 screened, respectively (P < .001). Interval cancer rates, determined using available follow-up data, decreased from 0.7 per 1000 women screened with the use of DM to 0.5 per 1000 screened with the use of DBT1.
Digital breast tomosynthesis screening outcomes are sustainable, with significant recall reduction, increasing cancer cases per recalled patients, and a decline in interval cancers.