Computed radiography for breast cancer

In order to evaluate the possibility of using computed radiographic mammography in mass surveys of the breast, we have retrospectively examined 71 breast cancer lesions in 71 patients using computed radiographic and conventional non-screen mammographies and have carried out comparative studies on tumor detection rate and calcification. A 95.8% detection rate was obtained for the tumor image (n 71) using computed radiography (CR) and one of 93.0% using non-screen techniques. Three lesions remained undetected by either study. A 100% detection rate was obtained for calcification associated with cancer (n 33) from each method. No significant differences in either detection rate or calcification were seen between the two images. On the other hand, the ability to recognize tumor images (n 66) was as follows; CR superior to non-screen radiography in 53 lesions (80.3%), equal in eight lesions (12.1%) and inferior in five lesions (7.6%). For the calcification images (n 18), CR was superior to non-screen radiography in all 18 lesions. Obviously, CR gives better results than non-screen radiography. Furthermore, an adequate image can be obtained using CR even although the X-ray dosage is only a twentieth of that required for non-screen radiography. It can therefore be applied not only to mass surveys for breast cancer but also to routine clinical diagnoses.