Radiation doses received in the UK breast screening programmes 2019-2023

Area of Science:

• Radiology and Medical Imaging
• Public Health
• Radiation Dosimetry

Background:

• Mammography is a key tool in breast cancer screening.
• Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and full-field digital mammography (FFDM) are common imaging techniques.
• Understanding radiation dose is crucial for patient safety and screening program effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the most recent UK mammography dose survey findings.
• To compare radiation doses between DBT and FFDM in UK breast screening programs.

Main Methods:

• Collected anonymized exposure data for over 111,000 screening and 5,000 assessment cases across the UK.
• Utilized an online system linked to a national quality control database.
• Estimated mean glandular doses (MGD) by combining output and beam quality measurements with exposure data.

Main Results:

• Full-field digital mammography (FFDM) doses increased by approximately 10% compared to previous surveys.
• Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) doses were 34%-40% higher than FFDM.
• DBT doses were 34% higher than FFDM for breasts 50-60 mm thick.

Conclusions:

• Changes in x-ray equipment models have led to increased FFDM breast doses in the UK.
• DBT delivers significantly higher radiation doses than FFDM within the NHS Breast Screening Programme.
• This study is the first national report comparing DBT and FFDM mean glandular doses in UK breast screening.