Dedicated Three-dimensional Breast Computed Tomography: Lesion Characteristic Perception by Radiologists

Area of Science:

• Radiology and Medical Imaging
• Oncology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Accurate characterization of suspicious breast lesions is crucial for timely diagnosis and treatment.
• Diagnostic two-dimensional digital mammography (dxDM) is a standard imaging modality, but its limitations in lesion characterization persist.
• Dedicated three-dimensional breast computed tomography (DBCT) offers potential for improved visualization of breast tissue.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare radiologist confidence in characterizing suspicious breast lesions using DBCT versus dxDM.
• To evaluate the impact of DBCT on the assessment of lesion characteristics like shape, margins, morphology, and distribution.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 20 women with BI-RADS 4 or 5 lesions undergoing biopsy.
• Seven radiologists compared DBCT and dxDM images for lesion characterization and confidence scoring.
• Confidence scores (0-100) were used to assess visualization of lesion shape, margins, morphology, and distribution.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in overall confidence for margin/distribution or shape/morphology visualization between DBCT and dxDM across all lesions.
• Statistically significant increase in confidence for mass shape and margin visualization with DBCT compared to dxDM.
• Significant decrease in confidence for calcification morphology and distribution visualization with DBCT compared to dxDM.

Conclusions:

• DBCT enhances radiologist confidence in characterizing suspicious breast masses.
• DBCT reduces confidence in characterizing suspicious breast calcifications.
• Further investigation is required to determine DBCT's utility in breast cancer screening.