Detectability comparison of modes in dual-mode digital breast tomosynthesis

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Medical Imaging
• Breast Cancer Screening

Background:

• Full-field digital mammography (FFDM) is a standard tool for breast cancer screening.
• Dual-mode digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) offers advanced imaging capabilities.
• Evaluating the combined efficacy of FFDM and DBT is crucial for improving diagnostic accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the diagnostic detectability of FFDM combined with DBT versus FFDM alone.
• To compare the detectability of high-resolution (HR) mode DBT with standard-mode (ST) DBT.
• To assess the impact of different DBT modes on diagnostic evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of 471 women recalled for further examination.
• Images acquired using FFDM, HR-mode DBT, and ST-mode DBT.
• Radiologists interpreted images, calculating detectability and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC).

Main Results:

• Adding DBT (both HR and ST modes) to FFDM significantly increased recall case detectability and AUC compared to FFDM alone.
• HR-mode DBT demonstrated a significantly higher AUC increase than ST-mode DBT.
• Detectability for follow-up cases did not show significant differences between the imaging techniques.

Conclusions:

• Combining HR-mode or ST-mode DBT with FFDM significantly enhances diagnostic evaluation for breast cancer detection.
• HR-mode DBT offers superior performance in improving diagnostic accuracy compared to ST-mode DBT when used with FFDM.