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Digital mammography better than standard film for some
women
Into today's world of modern medical technology comes new
evidence that digital mammography does a better job than
traditional film in detecting breast cancer among certain
women.
The evidence was generated during a clinical trial
conducted at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and 32
other centers across the United States and Canada.
"These results are encouraging," said Laurie Fajardo,
M.D., head of radiology at University of Iowa Hospitals and
Clinics and lead investigator for the UI portion of the
study. "This technology will improve screening for breast
cancer."
Specifically, the study found that digital mammography
performed significantly better than film mammography for
screening for about 40 percent of women: those under age 50,
pre- and peri-menopausal women, and women with dense breast
tissue.
The results suggest that women in these groups are likely
to benefit from earlier detection of their breast cancer if
they undergo digital mammography, which uses contemporary
electronics and computers to record images rather than
standard film.
Digital mammographers use specialized software to enhance
and manipulate the images to help them search for the subtle
and complicated indicators of cancer. Computers assist by
consistently scanning every part of every mammogram and
reporting any suspicious areas. This allows mammographers to
become more efficient and to focus more on patients who need
it most.
In addition, electronic images also are easier to store,
retrieve, and share among physicians. Digital mammography
also uses less radiation, although the doses used in
standard mammography are low and considered very safe.
Only about 8 percent of the nation's breast imaging
facilities use digital mammography. UI Hospitals and Clinics
is one of those places, helping put the hospital on the
razor's edge of advanced cancer imaging technology.
Although the study does not prove that better detection
for certain women will save lives, the cancers that were
detected by digital mammography and not by film were the
types of cancers than can lead to death.
The research trial enrolled nearly 49,500 participants
nationwide (including 3,000 in the UI portion of the study)
and in Canada. The study was funded by the National Cancer
Institute and conducted by the American College of Radiology
Imaging Network, with results reported online in the New
England Journal of Medicine on Sept. 16, 2005.
Additional details of the study are available at
www.acrin.org.
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