U.K. DBT trial set to commence

Oct 31, 2010

Researchers in the U.K. are preparing to launch a 1.6 million pound ($2.6 million U.S.) trial to determine the efficacy of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) to screen for breast cancer.

Approximately 7,000 women in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Manchester, London, and Guildford will be invited to participate in the three-year study.

Professor Fiona Gilbert, head of imaging at the University of Aberdeen, is the chief investigator of the study, which is funded by a grant from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment program.

Women who are recalled after an abnormal screening mammogram will be invited to participate in the trial, which will begin recruiting volunteers early next year. Trial participants will receive a standard mammogram and a DBT examination. The 2D and 3D images will be collected and reviewed independently by radiologists at another facility.

The research team will then compare the number of cancer cases detected by each imaging technique, the number of false positives, and the relative effectiveness of DBT in women with dense-tissue breasts, which can be a cancer risk.

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CARS report: Novel conebeam CT cuts breast dose, improves accuracy, June 29, 2009

ECR delivers new findings on digital breast tomosynthesis, March 7, 2009