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Published on: December 15, 2014
Contrast-Enhanced Mammography in Breast Cancer Follow-Up: Diagnostic Value in Suspected Recurrence
Claudio Ventura1, Marco Fogante1, Nicola Carboni1
1SOD Radiologia Materno Infantile, Senologica, Cardiologica ed Ecografica Ambulatoriale, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria delle Marche, Via Conca 71, 60126 Ancona, Italy.
Contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) effectively identifies suspicious findings in women with a personal history of breast cancer (PHBC). This imaging technique shows high accuracy in distinguishing benign from malignant postoperative changes, aiding in cancer surveillance.
Area of Science:
- Radiology
- Oncology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Women with a personal history of breast cancer (PHBC) face higher risks of recurrence or new tumors.
- Postoperative changes complicate conventional imaging assessment in these patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) for women with PHBC.
- To assess CEM's ability to differentiate benign from malignant postoperative changes.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study of 62 women with PHBC and suspicious findings on follow-up imaging.
- CEM was performed, followed by biopsy for enhancing lesions and stability assessment for non-enhancing lesions.
- Histopathology served as the reference standard; diagnostic performance metrics were calculated.
Main Results:
- CEM showed high accuracy (88.7%) in lesion characterization.
- Enhancing lesions were predominantly malignant (88.2%), while non-enhancing lesions were mostly benign (89.3%).
- Sensitivity was 90.9% and specificity was 86.2% with substantial interobserver agreement (κ = 0.76).
Conclusions:
- CEM demonstrates excellent diagnostic performance for surveillance in women with PHBC.
- CEM effectively distinguishes benign from malignant postoperative changes.
- CEM is a practical alternative to MRI for breast cancer surveillance.
