Abstract:
While mammography remains the gold standard for detecting breast cancer, research has shown it is not equally effective in all women.1 In the 40% of U.S. women with dense breast tissue, mammography can miss up to one third of breast cancers.2 This may lead to a delay in diagnosis and a worse prognosis for women with dense breast tissue.
Mammography has been shown to miss 30% of cancer in dense breasts.3 Using screening ultrasound for woman with dense breasts is helping address this challenge. However, the limitations of traditional hand-held ultrasound (HHUS), which include operator dependency, variability and long acquisition times, make it inefficient for broad-scale breast cancer screening. With the introduction of ABUS (automated breast ultrasound), clinicians are able to address these variables and shorten both exam and read times, while increasing sensitivity with a multi-modality approach.
Clinical research studies demonstrate that when used as an adjunct to mammography, ABUS can detect small, invasive, node-negative cancers. The ability to find mammographically occult cancers at smaller sizes may translate into reduced mortality and lower morbidity for patients – while also creating the potential to reduce therapy costs. The following cases demonstrate the clinical value of using ABUS as an adjunct screening for women with dense breast tissue.
