DBT + Synthetic Mammography Better at Repeat Screening

THURSDAY, Nov. 12, 2020 -- At repeat screening, digital breast tomosynthesis plus synthetic mammography (DBT+SM) identifies more cancers than full-field digital mammography (FFDM), according to a study published online Nov. 10 in Radiology.

Francesca Caumo, M.D., from the Veneto Institute of Oncology in Padua, Italy, and colleagues conducted a prospective study involving 34,638 women screened with DBT+SM between April 2015 and March 2017 and rescreened with DBT+SM or FFDM (16,198 and 16,672, respectively) between April 2017 and March 2019. Screening performance was compared to that of 28,680 women screened with FFDM between 2013 and 2014 (controls).

The researchers found that the cancer detection rate was higher for repeat screening with DBT+SM compared with controls (8.1 versus 4.5 per 1,000 women screened) and was similar for repeat screening with FFDM versus controls (3.5 versus 4.5 per 1,000 women screened). No difference was seen in the recall rate at repeat screening for DBT+SM (3.40 versus 3.71) and FFDM (3.69 versus 3.71) versus the control group; the positive predictive value of recall was higher with DBT+SM (23.8 versus 12 percent). The proportion of cancers that were stage II or higher was 14.5 and 8.5 percent with DBT+SM and FFDM, respectively, versus 27.3 percent in the control group.

"The lower number of stage II or above cancers with the DBT plus synthetic mammography screening test demonstrates that DBT has the capability of anticipating the detection of cancers that might become advanced in the following two years," Caumo said in a statement.

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Posted: November 2020