Search

Background: Breast compression in mammography is important but is a source of discomfort and has been linked to screening non-attendance. Reducing compression has little effect on breast thickness, and likely little effect on image quality, due to force being absorbed in the stiff juxta thoracic area instead of in the central breast. Purpose: To investigate whether a flexible compression plate can redistribute force to the central breast and whether this affects perceived pain. Material and Methods: Twenty-eight women recalled from mammography screening were compressed with flexible and rigid plates while retaining force and positioning, 15 in the craniocaudal (CC) view and 13 in the mediolateral oblique (MLO) view. Pressure distribution was continuously measured using pressure sensors. Results: The flexible plate showed greater mean breast pressure in both views: 2.8 versus 2.3 kPa for CC (confidence interval [CI] = 0.2–0.8) and 1.0 versus 0.5 kPa for MLO (CI = 0.2–0.6). The percentage of applied force distributed to the breast was significantly higher with the flexible plate, both on CC (36% vs. 22%, CI = 1–11) and MLO (30% vs. 14%, CI = 4–13). Conclusion: The flexible plate redistributes pressure to the central breast, achieving a better compression, particularly in the MLO view, though much applied force is still applied to the juxta thoracic region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mammographic tumor size measurement can be difficult because breast structures are superimposed onto a two-dimensional (2D) plane, potentially obscuring the tumor outline. Breast tomosynthesis (BT) is a 3D X-ray imaging technique in which low-dose images are acquired over a limited angular range at a total dose comparable to digital mammography (DM). These low-dose images are used to mathematically reconstruct a 3D image volume of the breast, thus reducing the problem of superimposed tissue. Purpose: To investigate whether breast cancer size can be more accurately assessed with breast tomosynthesis than with digital mammography and ultrasonography (US), by reducing the disturbance effect of the projected anatomy. Material and Methods: A prototype BT system was used. The main inclusion criterion for BT examination was subtle but suspicious findings of breast cancer on 2D mammography. Sixty-two women with 73 breast cancers were included. BT, DM, and US sizes were measured independently by experienced radiologists without knowledge of the pathology results, which were used as reference. Results: The tumor outline could be determined in significantly more cases with BT (63) and US (60) than DM (49). BT and US size correlated well with pathology (R=0.86 and R=0.85, respectively), and significantly better than DM size (R=0.71). Accordingly, staging was significantly more accurate with BT than with DM. Conclusion: The study indicates that BT is superior to DM in the assessment of breast tumor size and stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]