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Radiation doses received in the UK Breast Screening Programme in 1997 and 1998.
The British Journal of Radiology
|May 19, 2000
Summary
Mean glandular doses (MGDs) in mammographic screening were reviewed for UK women. Dose increased with breast thickness, but automatic exposure control systems reduced MGD for larger breasts.
Area of Science:
- Radiology
- Medical Physics
- Public Health
Background:
- Routine mammographic screening is conducted within the UK Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP).
- Mean glandular dose (MGD) is a standard metric for radiation exposure during mammography.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review MGD data from the NHSBSP for screening years 1997 and 1998.
- To analyze factors influencing MGD, including breast thickness and X-ray equipment characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 23,752 mammographic films from 8745 women screened between 1997-1998.
- Utilized data from 171 X-ray sets, comparing manual and automatic tube potential selection.
Main Results:
- Average MGD was 2.03 mGy (oblique) and 1.65 mGy (craniocaudal), consistent with previous years.
- MGD significantly increased with compressed breast thickness, especially with manual tube potential selection.
- Automatic exposure control systems (e.g., IGE DMR) lowered MGD for larger breasts (>70 mm).
- MGD varied from 0.7 to 2.2 mGy and correlated with system-specific average MGD (R=0.79).
- No correlation found between MGD and age within the 50-64 year range.
Conclusions:
- Mammographic MGD in the NHSBSP remained stable between 1994-1998.
- Breast thickness is a key determinant of MGD, highlighting the benefit of automatic exposure control for thicker breasts.
- System-specific MGD variations suggest potential for optimization in mammography quality assurance.