Performance of full‐field digital mammography versus digital breast

Abstract

Studies have shown that the combination of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and digital mammography (DM) can improve the display of malignant tumors, reduce false positive results, and make up for the major deficiencies of traditional DM. In addition, the recall rate of patients with combined DBT was significantly reduced, especially those under 50 years of age and those with dense breast glands. The objective of this study is to compare the difference of DM and DM+ DBT in the diagnosis of benign and malignant tumors in different subgroups. A retrospective analysis was performed on 578 pathologically confirmed breast diseases in Jiangsu Cancer Hospital from January 2019 to December 2021. All were female, aged 23–85, with an average age of 53. Their DM and DBT images will be reviewed in an independent blind manner by an experienced radiologist. The doctor was unable to obtain the results of previous tests. The sensitivity and specificity of population samples and different subgroups were calculated. Overall sensitivity was 65% for DM, 93% for DM+ DBT. The addition of DBT significantly increased the tumor detection rate (odds ratio, 7.05; 95% confidence interval: 4.78, 10.4; p = .00), the difference was statistically significant. For patients <50 years of age, the sensitivity of DM+ DBT (94%) was significantly higher than that of DM (54%), and for patients with breast density of 50% or more, the sensitivity of DM and DM+ DBT were 59% and 92% (p < .001). The sensitivity of DM+ DBT (92%) was significantly higher than that of DM alone (39%) in patients whose primary imaging feature was non‐mass (p < 0.001). Specificity was 77% for DM and 87% for DM+ DBT. The addition of DBT improved the specificity of DM in patients with high‐density breast and the sensitivity of DM to all subgroups. DBT has potential benefits for diagnosing of benign and malignant tumors, especially for young women with dense breasts.