Mammography has been under the medical imaging microscope in recent months as digital breast tomosynthesis emerges as a groundbreaking innovation in diagnostics. However, a recent study offered support to regular mammography screening in women aged 75 years and older.
Published online in the journal Radiology, the University of Washington researchers investigated the effect of breast cancer screening in older women using data from 10,395 cases, with 1,162 patients being older than 75. Currently, the American Cancer Society recommends annual mammograms for this age group, as long as they are healthy. Yet, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released a mammography screening recommendation in 2009 that purported there was not enough evidence to accurately determine the pros and cons of conducting screenings with older women.
“More women are living active, healthy lives into considerable old age, and good information on the possible benefits of early breast cancer detection is sorely needed,” said lead study author Judith Malmgren, Ph.D., quoted by AuntMinnie.com.
In order to meet this need for more data, Malmgren and her colleagues set out to examine the 75 years and older age group. Within the cohort that the researchers investigated, disease stages ranged from 0 to IV, with cases spanning more than two decades – 1990 to 2011 – and detection modalities coming from various sources, including mammography, physician diagnoses or the patient herself.
Of the patients who were 75 years and older, 64 percent had malignancies diagnosed by mammograms, while 36 percent were identified by physicians or the women themselves. Over the length of the study period, the researchers found a 21 percent increase in mammographically detected breast cancer, from 49 percent in 1990 to 70 percent in 2011.
Tomosynthesis over mammography?
Mammograms have served as diagnostic imaging tools for years, but digital breast tomosynthesis is making waves in radiology. A new study, published in the July 2014 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology, revealed that the process provides better visualization of architectural distortion than mammography alone.
Led by Luke Partyka, M.D., from the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, researchers retrospectively reviewed reports from approximately 10,000 screening exams with adjunct tomosynthesis. They found 26 cases of architectural distortion, 73 percent of which were found only through digital breast tomosynthesis.
While more research is needed, the debate continues on the efficacy of mammograms in the Digital Age. However, the data revealed by Partyka’s study gives evidence to the advantages of utilizing digital tomosynthesis during breast cancer screenings.
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Ronny Bachrach
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