Performed in 3D, mammography can detect 29% more breast cancer, while reducing the number of false alarms.
3D regularly enriches medical imaging … According to a study published on June 25 in the JAMA, 3-dimensional mammography is more effective than the traditional method. More efficient and precise for doctors, it changes nothing for patients who submit to it.
Fewer false alarms
3D mammography combines two techniques: traditional digital mammography and tomosynthesis which produces a series of 1 mm thick slices. This makes it possible to obtain a much more precise image of the breast. For the patients, nothing changes: they position themselves in the same way on the device, and the examination only requires a few seconds more. For physicians, on the other hand, 3D mammography is radically different.
The clearer and more precise images obtained by 3D make it possible to better identify the different structures of the breast. By reviewing the results of half a million exams performed at 13 different sites, the study accurately quantifies the benefits of 3-dimensional mammography. The number of breast cancers detected climbs by 29%, and even peaks at + 41% for invasive cancers alone. The reminders to the examination which result in a false alarm, they fall by 15%.
Earlier treatment
“This study confirms what we already know: 3D mammography detects more invasive and aggressive cancers, those we want to find, and saves women the anxiety and the cost of additional examinations for what turns out to be be a false alarm, ”says Dr. Donna Plecha, co-author of the study.
“We already knew that breast exams save lives. This study provides strong evidence that 3D mammography is the best test for detecting breast cancer when it is treatable. This is all the more important given that, detected and treated early, breast cancer is associated with a survival of 97% at 5 years. It also requires less chemotherapy or a less extensive operation.
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