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Using sonography to screen women with mammographically dense breasts
Pavel Crystal1, Selwyn D Strano, Semyon Shcharynski
1Department of Radiology, Soroka University Medical Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, P. O. Box 151, Beer Sheba, Israel. pcrystal@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
AJR. American Journal of Roentgenology
|June 24, 2003
Summary
Screening breast sonography effectively detects small breast cancers missed by mammography in women with dense breasts. This approach is particularly beneficial for high-risk individuals, improving early cancer detection rates.
Area of Science:
- Radiology
- Oncology
- Breast Imaging
Background:
- Mammographically dense breast tissue can obscure cancers and is linked to increased breast cancer risk.
- Standard mammography may yield false-negative results in women with dense breasts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of breast sonography as a supplementary screening tool for women with dense breast tissue.
- To assess the role of sonography in detecting breast cancer missed by mammography and clinical examination.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 1517 asymptomatic women with dense breasts and normal mammograms underwent physician-performed breast sonography.
- A subgroup of 318 women with a history of breast cancer (personal or family) was analyzed separately.
- Cancer detection rates were compared between the high-risk subgroup and the baseline risk group.
Main Results:
- Seven breast cancers were diagnosed, yielding an overall cancer-detection rate of 0.46%.
- The cancer-detection rate was significantly higher in the high-risk subgroup (1.3%) compared to the baseline risk subgroup (0.25%).
- All detected cancers were early-stage (T1), with a mean size of 9.6 mm, and most had negative sentinel lymph nodes.
Conclusions:
- Breast sonography is a valuable adjunct screening tool for detecting small breast cancers in women with dense breast tissue.
- Sonography may be particularly beneficial for women with dense breasts and increased risk factors for breast cancer.
- This imaging modality can identify cancers not apparent on mammography or clinical breast examination.