Switch to Digital Mammography Leads to Increased Cancer Detection Rates

The use of digital mammography technology alone is responsible for an increased number of breast cancers detected at a community-based mammography facility, according to a recent study.

Researchers from San Luis Diagnostic Center (San Luis Obispo, CA, USA) found that there was a significant increase in the number of breast cancers detected following the switch from film-screen to digital mammography. The number of cancers detected prior to the switch averaged between 4.1-4.5 cancers per 1,000 women imaged. Following the switch, the cancer detection rate increased to 7.9 cancers per 1,000 women imaged and has remained high. Breast cancer-detection rates were evaluated using an auditing system.

"Surprisingly, 60-70% of screening facilities in the United States are still using film-screen mammography. This is a disadvantage because digital mammography offers considerable advantages over film-screen mammography,” noted San Luis Diagnostic Center radiology Dr. Fred S. Vernacchia. "I would certainly encourage patients who are being screened to look for facilities that have digital technology because it is faster and has a higher cancer detection rate. There is a need for more studies like ours to confirm our findings.”

This study appears in the August 2009 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

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San Luis Diagnostic Center