Comparison of radiation doses between diagnostic full‐field digital mammography (FFDM) and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT): a clinical study

Introduction There are increasing concerns about radiation exposure among women who undergo full‐field digital mammography (FFDM) and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). The main aim of this study was to compare the entrance surface dose (ESD) and average glandular dose (AGD) from FFDM and DBT for different breast thicknesses. Methods The ESD and AGD for FFDM in craniocaudal, mediolateral oblique and DBT in craniocaudal projection were recorded from a GE Senographe Essential FFDM unit. The accuracy of the ESD and AGD from the FFDM unit was verified during regular quality assurance programme. Patients were categorised according to their compressed breast thicknesses. X‐ray tube potential and target filter combinations were varied with ESD and AGD recorded directly from the FFDM unit. The non‐parametric Kruskal–Wallis, Mann–Whitney and Wilcoxon signed‐rank tests were performed. Results The median and interquartile range (IQR) age of the patients were 48 and 11 years, respectively. The highest median for ESD and median total AGD for different breast thicknesses were ranged from 3.3 to 9.1 mGy and 3.3 to 6.0 mGy, respectively, for two‐view FFDM. However, it ranged from 3.1 to 8.9 mGy and 1.8 to 4.0 mGy, respectively, for single‐view DBT. Both ESD and AGD were significantly lower for DBT (P
There are some concerns about increasing the radiation dose among women undergoing both full‐field digital mammography (FFDM) and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). In our study, we found that the entrance skin dose (ESD) and total average glandular dose (AGD) are lower in DBT than FFDM techniques. This offers opportunities for the implementation of DBT in the breast cancer detection.