Breast tomosynthesis faces small trials but big dreams.

The article presents the highlights of the special session on breast tomosynthesis at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago, Illinois in September 2005. Tomosynthesis improves breast cancer detection by removing the effect of superimposed tissue. In a clinical trial, six out of seven lesions that were occult on mammography were identified by tomosynthesis. A contrast-enhanced tomosynthesis technique exploits the different vascular characteristics of malignant and benign breast tissue.