Digital spot mammography for breast cancer in dense breasts

Objective To observe the diagnostic value of digital spot mammography for breast cancer in dense breasts.Methods Sixty-eight patients with breast cancer in dense breasts proved pathologicaly were enrolled.After conventional digital mammography(including craniocaudal view and midiolateral oblique view) were conducted for every patient,digital spot mammography without magnification were performed in the suspected area.The image findings of both digital spot mammography and conventional mammography were analyzed and compared.Results Digital spot mammography was superior to conventional mammography in showing the margin and spiculated features of masses.There was no significant difference in showing calcification of tumors,whereas digital spot mammography was superior to conventional mammography in showing the specific features of calcification like quantity,size,shape and density.Masses were found with digital spot mammography in 4 cases of architectural distortion and 5 cases of focal asymmetric density on conventional mammography.The accuracy of digital spot mammography was higher than that of conventional mammography(86.76% vs 63.24%),and the misdiagnosis of digital spot mammography was lower than that of conventional mammography(4.41% vs 14.70%).Conclusion Combination of conventional mammography with spot mammography can improve the diagnostic accuracy and reduce the misdiagnosis of brast cancer in dense breasts.