Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Breast Cancer Detected with Ultrasound

According to a study published in Radiology1, Bae et al from Seoul, South Korea report findings from 116 683 screening ultrasound studies of the breasts performed at106 856 women following their initial screening mammogram.  

A retrospective review of their database found 356 women with 362 breast cancers on the supplemental screening ultrasound. The overall cancer yield was 3.4 cancers per 1000 women screened.  Twenty-seven women were excluded, including 19 patients who had undergone mammography at an outside hospital and eight patients with contralateral cancers seen at mammography; 329 patients (median age, 47 years) were included in this study, with 335 US-depicted breast cancers (with six patients having bilateral breast cancers). Of the 335 cancers, 282 (84%) were invasive and 53 (16%) were ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).  The authors found that 81% of breast cancers detected by US were not seen at mammography.  In addition, 19% had findings missed at mammography.  Most of the cancers (78%) were missed due to dense breast tissue and few (3%) because they were not included in the field of view from inadequate positioning.   

The authors conclude that screening ultrasound is helpful in high-risk women and in those with dense breast parenchyma.









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