Limitations of mammography in the diagnosis of breast diseases compared with ultrasonography: a single-center retrospective analysis of 274 cases

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of this study is to compare X-ray mammography (MG) and ultrasonography (US) in the diagnosis of breast diseases in Chinese women.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed X-ray mammograms of 274 patients with US and surgical/pathological results of breast diseases diagnosed at The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University (Hefei, China) between March 2011 and November 2014. The MG and US data were compared to surgical records using the results from post-surgical pathological examinations as the gold standard.ResultsThe overall sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, false-positive, false-negative, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for the detection of breast cancer were 88.5%, 57.9%, 73.7%, 42.1%, 11.5%, 69.2%, and 82.5%, respectively, for MG and 95.9%, 66.7%, 81.8%, 33.3%, 4.1%, 75.5%, and 93.8%, respectively, for US. Of the 274 cases, lesion size by MG agreed with surgery in 133 (48.5%) patients compared with 216 (78.8%) by US (P < 0.01). Lesion location by MG agreed with surgery in 146 (53.3%) patients compared with 257 (93.8%) by US (P < 0.01). These values were then stratified according to age, menstrual status, breast density, and breast volume, and the agreement rates of MG with surgery were lower than that of US (all P < 0.01), except when the lesion size was >5 cm (P > 0.05).ConclusionsUS was better than MG in the preoperative evaluation of breast diseases of Chinese women. These results suggest that US could be more useful for detecting breast lesions in China, especially for younger women with dense breasts.

Two-layer heterogeneous breast phantom for photoacoustic imaging

“…2 Ultrasound can improve breast cancer detection in dense breasts 3 and also distinguish benign from cancerous masses, but results in unnecessary biopsies due to low specificity. 4 A possible remedy for this problem, the emerging imaging modality photoacoustic tomography (PAT), holds strong potential for mammography applications. 5 PAT combines optical tissue excitation with acoustic detection to enable imaging of light-absorbing chromophores (melanin, hemoglobin, water, and lipids).…”

Feasibility of the Detection of Breast Cancer Using Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) Technology in Comparison with Other Screening Techniques

“…So, although x-ray mammography is a conventional method for breast cancer screening, it is not easy to trade off between low-frequency x-rays (for higher penetration), low-energy x-rays for less ionization, and simultaneously high-energy x-rays for better resolution of the mammogram. Also, as reported in [6,7], the rate of failure in detecting the tumor using x-ray mammography is significantly considerable and therefore cannot be neglected. This includes false-positive and false-negative probabilities.…”

Breast cancer diagnosis by analysis of serum N-glycans using MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy

“…Early detection of breast cancer (BrC) is associated with more treatment options, better surgical conditions, increased survival, and improved quality of life. While various criteria exist for classification of BrC, it is most commonly classified into non-invasive BrC (stage 0) or invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC; stages [1][2][3][4]. The presence of hormone receptors (HR) in invasive BrC is a prognostic factor and the most powerful prognostic indicator of hormone suppression.…”

“…The most commonly used diagnostic techniques for BrC include mammography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasonography, computerized tomography, positron emission tomography, and biopsy [2]. However, these strategies are expensive, time-consuming, and unsuitable for screening large numbers of patients simultaneously [3,4]. Detecting BrC-specific biomarkers in bodily fluids would be an ideal approach for BrC diagnosis and screening.…”