Comparison between Visualization of Microcalcifications by Digital Breast Tomosynthesis and Full-Field Digital Mammography

Objective: To date, few studies have compared the diagnostic performance and visibility of microcalcifications obtained using digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) with those obtained from full-field digital mammography (FFDM). The visualization and characterization of microcalcifications with DBT remain controversial. The purpose of this study was to compare the visibility of microcalcifications and determine whether DBT exhibits a diagnostic advantage for visualizing microcalcifications over FFDM. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 120 cases including DBT and FFDM imaging (60 histologically verified as breast cancers and 60 as benign microcalcifications or normal). DBT images with a wide scan-angle of 50° and FFDM images were obtained using a flat-panel system (MAMMOMAT Inspiration, Siemens). Images were independently reviewed by four board-certified radiologists and evaluated for the presence of microcalcifications, probability of malignancy (BI-RADS classification), and visibility. Results: In predicting the malignancy of detected microcalcifications, no significant difference was found between readers’ areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for DBT and FFDM (p = 0.068). The visibility scores of detected microcalcifications were 3.74 ± 1.06 for DBT and 3.46 ± 0.93 for FFDM, respectively. The visibility of microcalcifications when using DBT was found to be significantly superior to that of FFDM (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Our results suggest that the image quality of DBT with a wide scan-angle is comparable or superior to that obtained with FFDM in terms of both visibility and assessment of microcalcifications.

Combined use of fine needle aspiration cytology and full field digital mammography in preoperative assessment of breast masses

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of these two methods and focus on the analysis and management of the false-negative cases. Methods: Results of full field digital mammography (FFDM) and fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) were obtained and analyzed from a consecutive of 102 women with palpable breast masses, results were correlated with the histopathological findings. Results: Of the 102 cases, malignancy was confirmed in 43 cases (42.16%) by final pathological examination, the sensitivity and specificity of cancer detection with FNA cytology was 90.7% (39/43) and 89.8% (53/59), re- spectively, the whole accuracy was 90.2% (92/102), with a positive predictive value of 86.7% (39/45) and a negative predictive value of 93.0% (53/57). FFDM gave a sensitivity of 88.4% (38/43), specificity of 83.1% (49/59), and whole accuracy 85.3% (87/102), the positive predictive value and negative predictive value was 79.2% (38/48) and 90.7% (49/54), respectively. All the FNAC-negative cancer cases were suggestive of malignancy by FFDM findings, however, the benign cases which present as equivocal finding by FNA cytology, could not be ruled out the presence of malignancy. Conclusion: FNAC and FFDM both are accurate, effective and economical diagnostic modalities, combined use of these two methods can reduced the misdiag- nosis rate of breast masses.

Long Term Reproducibility Check of a Full Field Digital Mammography System

In this study different types of customized phantoms were used to examine a long term reproducibility check of a full field digital mammography system. These phantoms can be distinguished into three types： a PMMA （polimethylmethacrylate） object for an easy signal-to-noise ratio measurement in a defined region, a phantom with particular details of various dimensions （TORMAS） and a phantom for a contrast-detail analysis （CDMAM）. In our center the ARTINIS ANALYZER software has been used since 2011 to weekly perform a CDMAM phantom analysis. This soitware is based on the original CDCOM algorithm suggested by the EUREF, the European Reference Organization for assured quality breast screening and diagnostic services. However the CDMAM phantom is a contrast-detail object designed for image quality type tests and not for long term reproducibility control. Since 2013, as suggested by the guidelines of Veneto region, a TORMAS weekly acquisition and analysis of data has also been performed. The purpose of this study is to discuss the data obtained by using the two different detail phantoms, CDMAM and TORMAS. These results can provide some correlations among the analyzed parameters comparing them with the ones emerging from the PMMA phantom analysis. The study reveals that the basic PMMA phantom is the object that provides the necessary information about the stability of the exposure parameters and the reproducibility of a mammographic equipment in terms of image quality indexes.

Efficacy of digital breast tomosynthesis combined with magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of early breast cancer

BACKGROUND The incidence and mortality rate of breast cancer in China rank 120th and 163rd,worldwide,respectively.The incidence of breast cancer is on the rise;the risk increases with age but is slightly reduced after menopause.Early screening,diagnosis,and timely determination of the best treatment plan can ensure clinical efficacy and prognosis.AIM To evaluate the clinical value of magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) combined with digital breast tomosynthesis(DBT) in diagnosing early breast cancer and the effect of breast-conserving surgery by arc incision.METHODS This study was divided into two parts.Firstly,110 patients with early breast cancer confirmed by pathological examination and 110 with benign breast diseases diagnosed simultaneously in Changzhi People’s Hospital of Shanxi Province and Shanxi Dayi Hospital from May 2019 to September 2020 were included in the breast cancer group and the benign group,respectively.Both groups underwent DBT and MRI examination,and the pathological results were used as the gold standard to evaluate the effectiveness of the combined application of DBT and MRI in the diagnosis of early breast cancer.Secondly,according to the operation method,110 patients with breast cancer were divided into either a breast-conserving group(69 patients) or a modified radical mastectomy group(41 patients).The surgical effect,cosmetic effect,and quality of life of the two groups were compared.RESULTS Among the 110 cases of breast cancer,66 were of invasive ductal carcinoma(60.00%),and 22 were of ductal carcinoma in situ(20.00%).Among the 110 cases of benign breast tumors,55 were of breast fibromas(50.00%),and 27 were of breast adenosis(24.55%).The sensitivity,specificity,and area under the curve(AUC) of DBT in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast tumors were 73.64%,84.55%,and 0.791,respectively.The sensitivity,specificity,and AUC of MRI in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast tumors were 84.55%,85.45%,and 0.850,respectively.The sensitivity,specificity,and AUC of DBT combined with MRI in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast tumors were 97.27%,93.64%,and 0.955,respectively.The blood loss,operation time and hospitalization time of the breast-conserving group were significantly lower than those of the modified radical treatment group,and the difference was statistically significant(P < 0.05).After 3 mo of observation,the breast cosmetic effect of the breast-conserving group was better than that of the modified radical group,and the difference was statistically significant(P < 0.05).Before surgery,the quality-of-life scores of the breast-conserving and modified radical mastectomy groups did not differ(P > 0.05).Three months after surgery,the quality-of-life scores in both groups were higher than those before surgery(P < 0.05),and the quality-of-life score of the breast-conserving group was higher than that of the modified radical group(P < 0.05).In the observation of tumor recurrence rate two years after the operation,four patients in the breast-conserving group and one in the modified radical treatment group had a postoperative recurrence.There was no significant difference in the recurrence rate between the two groups(χ2 = 0.668,P = 0.414 > 0.05).CONCLUSION MRI combined with DBT in diagnosing early breast cancer can significantly improve the diagnostic efficacy compared with the two alone.Breast-conserving surgery leads to better cosmetic breast effects and reduces the impact of surgery on postoperative quality of life.

A cadaveric breast cancer tissue phantom for phase-contrast X-ray imaging applications

Background:As mammography X-ray imaging technologies advance and provide elevated contrast in soft tissues,a need has developed for reliable imaging phantoms for use in system design and component calibration.In advanced imaging modalities such as refraction-based methods,it is critical that developed phantoms capture the biological details seen in clinical precancerous and cancerous cases while minimizing artifacts that may be caused due to phantom production.This work presents the fabrication of a breast tissue imaging phantom from cadaveric breast tissue suitable for use in both transmission and refraction-enhanced imaging systems.Methods:Human cancer cell tumors were grown orthotopically in nude athymic mice and implanted into the fixed tissue while maintaining the native tumor/adipose tissue interface.Results:The resulting human–murine tissue hybrid phantom was mounted on a clear acrylic housing for absorption and refraction X-ray imaging.Digital breast tomosynthesis was also performed.Conclusion:Both attenuation-based imaging and refraction-based imaging of the phantom are presented to confirm the suitability of this phantom's use in both imaging modalities.

Relationship between Full-Field Digital Mammographic Features and Clinicopathologic Characteristics in 176 Cases with Breast Cancer

OBJECTIVE Different mammographic features are probably predictive of different prognosis. However, ambiguity still exists in understanding the relationship between them. In resent years, digital mammography has been available for clinical use which has led to a revolution in the resolving of images and an increase in early-stage breast cancer detection. Based on the above knowledge, this study was performed to evaluate the relationship between full-field digital mammographic features and clinicopathologic characteristics in breast cancer. METHODS Digital mammograms of 176 patients with pathologically proven breast cancer were reviewed. Also, clinical and pathologic records （histological types and axillary lymph nodes status） were retrospectively examined. RESULTS Most of the patients with a solitary microcalcification were young women under the age of 50（84.4%）, but the majority of the patients with microcalcifications complicated by a mass were elderly women. Microcalcifications detected by mammography occurred frequently in ductal carcinoma in situ （28.1%） and in early invasive carcinoma （15.6%）. Breast cancers with expression of microcalcifications combined with a spiculate mass had a high metastatic rate of axillary lymph nodes （69.4%）. A high metastatic rate of axillary lymph nodes was also found in the patients with solitary worm-like microcalcifications （57.1%）, solitary spiculate mass （53.7%） and solitary non-worm-like microcalcifications （44.4%）. Simple worm-like microcalcifications accompanied with metastasis of 4 to 9 axillary lymph nodes occurred in 42.9% of the（6/14） cases. The patients with microcalcifications combined by a spiculate mass and with metastasis of 4 to 9 axillary lymph nodes accounted for 27.8% （10/36） of the cases, and those with metastases of 10 and over accounted for 16.7% （6/36）. CONCLUSION Solitary microcalcifications occur frequently in young women and are usually associated with early breast cancer. There is a close relationship between worm-like microcalcifications, a spiculate mass and positive metastases of axillary lymph nodes, which are an index of poor prognosis.