Research Shows Adding to Mammography Improves Imaging Results

Breast imaging has been the focus for many health care providers aiming to boost their services with innovative equipment. Digital breast tomosynthesis has attracted the most attention for providing in-depth scans that navigate the challenge of dense tissue, which can affect the quality of reports.

Recent research into new medical imaging techniques has underscored the continued improvement to breast imaging in the radiology sector.

Adding technique improves cancer discovery
According to a new study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology, the addition of molecular breast imaging to conventional mammography improves the detection of cancer in women with dense breast tissue. AuntMinnie.com reported the Mayo Clinic researchers' findings, highlighting the advances made to mammograms in the last decade.

"MBI produces functional images of the breast, which in my opinion is the direction we need to go to overcome the limitations of anatomical imaging in dense breast tissue," lead author Deborah Rhodes, M.D., told the news source. "No matter how much you improve your X-ray, at the end of the day it's still an anatomical image."

Mammography's capabilities start to wane when dense tissue is involved, as the modality fails to provide truly identifying reports on potential malignancies. As a result, techniques like MBI, DBT and others have been used in tandem with mammograms to improve performance. To examine the benefits of these additions, Rhodes and her colleagues performed a follow-up study on a pilot program they had published four years ago.

The initial research showed that functional imaging was more effective than anatomical imaging in scans of dense breasts. The updated study was geared toward MBI's radiation dose and how much it could be reduced while still producing high-quality images.

Rhodes and the team identified 1,585 asymptomatic women who had dense breasts and underwent prior mammograms. Screening mammography with adjunctive MBI was conducted, with a dose of radiation well below the conventional amount. The Mayo Clinic researchers found that adding MBI increased the overall detection rate per 1,000 women from 3.2 cases to 12, with invasive cancers also becoming more easily identified (1.9 cases to 8.8 per 1,000).

While the report indicated good news for breast cancer detection, it was not the only study that underscored pivotal improvements in oncology screenings.

Automated volume scanning proves to be valuable
A new study published in the journal Academic Radiology focused on the advantages of using automated breast volume scanning (ABVS) as an adjunct screening tool to mammography. HealthImaging reported that the research was conducted by scientists from the Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in Changsha, China.

Led by Yuanming Xiao, the team cited the decreased sensitivity of mammography in dense breasts and high rates of false positives as the reasons behind their research. For the study, Xiao and colleagues analyzed ABVS images from 200 women who underwent breast exams and were recommended for follow-up biopsies.

They found that the sensitivity and specificity of identifying lesions by ABVS was superior to other modalities. In the 200 cases, the tool detected 273 individual growths, with 22 being malignant.

The biggest benefit of including additional techniques alongside traditional mammography is reduction in radiation exposure. In the Mayo Clinic study, MBI used considerably lower dosages than mammograms and helped eliminate recurring and redundant exams that drive up costs and cause more harm than good. This becomes especially important for patients with dense breast tissue, as it improves the quality of exams and reduces their exposure to radiation.

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