EXPOSURE PARAMETERS OF MAMMOGRAMS WITH AND WITHOUT MASS LESIONS FROM A SOUTH AFRICAN BREAST CARE CENTRE

In South African breast care centres, full-field digital mammography units provide breast imaging services to symptomatic and asymptomatic women simultaneously. This study evaluated the technical exposure parameters of 800 mammograms of which 100 mammograms had obvious mass lesions in the fibroglandular tissue. The average breast compression force of mammograms with mass lesions in the fibroglandular tissue was 18.4% less than the average breast compression force of mammograms without mass lesions. The average mean glandular dose (MGD), tube potential (kVp) and compressed breast thickness (CBT) values were 2.14 mGy, 30.5 kVp and 63.9 mm, respectively, for mammograms with mass lesions, and 1.45 mGy, 29.6 kVp and 56.9 mm, respectively, for mammograms without mass lesions. Overall, the average MGD and mean CBT of mammograms with mass lesion were significantly higher compared to those without mass lesions (p < 0.05), although there was no significant difference in their tube potentials (p > 0.05).