DBT improves screening performance in younger women

Sunday, November 25 | 11:55 a.m.-12:05 p.m. | SSA01-08 | Room E450A

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) improves breast screening when compared with digital mammography alone -- especially in women younger than 50.

In this Sunday morning session, Dr. Amir Imanzadeh of Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, CT, will present research that may further support the recommendation that women should start screening mammography at 40.

"The starting age for screening mammogram has been a controversial subject, mostly due to reported low cancer detection rate and high false-positive recall rate in younger women," the researchers wrote. "However, digital breast tomosynthesis may improve performance of screening mammogram and change the justification of screening guidelines."

Imanzadeh and colleagues analyzed 16,938 digital mammography and 28,313 DBT screening mammograms performed between August 2008 and April 2017. The exams were categorized by age:

• Group 1: 40 to 44 years
• Group 2: 45 to 49 years
• Group 3: 50 to 54 years

DBT recall rates were significantly lower across all age groups, but the researchers found no statistically significant difference in cancer detection rate. However, they did find a significant cancer detection rate increase between digital mammography and DBT in women ages 45 to 49 (p = 0.03).

"Improved performance of DBT screening in women aged 40 to 49 compared to [digital mammography] screening may further justify recommendations for starting screening mammography at younger age," the researchers concluded.