[Screening digital mammography: one year result for the Alpes-Maritimes region].

Purpose: After one year of experience with screening digital mammography, the results of this technique (n=9640) are compared to screen-film mammography (n=240 376) with double reading.
Methods: Evaluation for each technique of the rate of call-back, positive results before and after work-up by the first reader and distribution based on the BI-RADS classification by the ACR, rate of complementary US, detected abnormalities (microcalcifications) and detected cancers.
Results: The rate of positive mammograms was significantly higher for the digital technique (17.3% versus 15.1%) because of the first reader (16.3% versus 13.9%) whereas it was significantly lower after complementary work-up (3% versus 3.7%). The rate of BI-RADS 0 was significantly higher with digital imaging irrespective of patient age. The rate of US was higher for type 1 and 2 breasts at digital imaging (46% versus 36%, p<0.0001) while the reverse was true for denser breasts (49% versus 54%; p:0.0005). More microcalcifications were detected on digital imaging (24.4% versus 21.8%) without impact on the rate of DCIS and invasive carcinomas. The rate of cancers detected with both technique were identical.
Conclusion: The increased number of positive results at first reading and increased number of US for digital mammography may relate to a learning curve and difficulties in comparing with prior examinations. These results should continuously be monitored and compared to national averages.