Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026
Tracking the Mammary Architectural Features and Detecting Breast Cancer with Magnetic Resonance Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Published on: December 15, 2014
Quantitative measures confirm the inverse relationship between lesion spiculation and detection of breast masses
Mohammad A Rawashdeh1, Roger M Bourne, Elaine A Ryan
1Medical Image Optimisation and Perception Group (MIOPeG), Medical Imaging & Radiation Sciences, Faculty Research Group, The Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Cumberland Campus, 75 East Street, Lidcombe, NSW 2141, Australia. mraw2971@uni.sydney.edu.au
Objective:
To identify specific mammographic appearances that reduce the mammographic detection of breast cancer.
Materials And Methods:
This study received institutional board review approval and all readers gave informed consent. A set of 60 mammograms each consisting of craniocaudal and mediolateral oblique projections were presented to 129 mammogram Breastscreen readers. The images consisted of 20 positive cases with single and multicentric masses in 16 and 4 cases, respectively (resulting in a total of 24 cancers), and readers were asked to identify and locate the lesions. Each lesion was then ranked according to a detectability rating (ie, the number of observers who correctly located the lesion divided by the total number of observers), and this was correlated with breast density, lesion size, and various descriptors of lesion shape and texture.
Results:
Negative and positive correlations between lesion detection and density (r = -0.64, P = .007) and size (r = 0.65, P = .005), respectively, were demonstrated. In terms of lesion size and shape, there were significant correlations between the probability of detection and area (r = 0.43, P = .04), perimeter (r = 0.66, P = .0004), lesion elongation (r = 0.49, P = .02), and lesion nonspiculation (r = 0.78, P < .0001).
Conclusions:
The results of this study have identified specific lesion characteristics associated with shape that may contribute to reduced cancer detection. Mammographic sensitivity may be adversely affected without appropriate attention to spiculation.
