Advanced 3D mammography detects more breast cancers, fewer false positives: Study

Results showed that DBT had a higher rate of cancer detection than DM (5.3 versus 4 per 1000 screenings) without leading to overdiagnosis of less harmful cancers that shouldn’t impact a patient’s life.

Also, the false positive recall rate (when a woman undergoes additional testing after a screening finds a non-cancerous abnormality in her breast) was significantly less for DBT at 7.2% compared with 10.6% for DM.

Philpotts says fewer false positives and the overall higher cancer detection rate is a win-win and shows DBT is not over-diagnosing cancers.

“Based on the results, DBT is an effective screening tool that not only finds more cancers, it catches them earlier at a lower stage, which means fewer advanced cancers,” said Philpotts. “And over time, when women have repeated 3D mammograms, the number of advanced cancers diagnosed is even lower.”

A randomized clinical trial to assess the impact of DBT is ongoing. Philpotts added that she would like to see other long-term studies that compare DBT and DM. She hopes this retrospective study provides data useful to health care institutions still considering the new screening technology.

Reference:

Liane Elizabeth Philpotts, Jaskirandeep Kaur Grewal, Laura Jean Horvath, Michelle Young Giwerc, Lawrence Staib, Maryam Etesami, Breast Cancers Detected during a Decade of Screening with Digital Breast Tomosynthesis: Comparison with Digital Mammography, Radiology, https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.232841.