For some women, digital mammography may be a better screening option than film mammography, according to newly published results from a national study led by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researcher.
The results, from the Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST), appear in the February issue of Radiology. UNC's Dr. Etta D. Pisano is principal investigator and lead author of the study, which found that digital mammography performed better than film mammography for pre- and perimenopausal women under age 50 with dense breasts.
“We looked at a cross-section of characteristics,” Pisano said. “This paper confirms that if you are under 50, pre- or perimenopausal, and have dense breasts, you should definitely be screened with digital rather than film.”
Pisano is Kenan professor of radiology and biomedical engineering and vice dean for academic affairs and in the UNC School of Medicine. She is also director of the Biomedical Research Imaging Center and a member of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
DMIST enrolled 49,528 women at 33 centers in the U.S. and Canada. The women underwent both digital and film mammography. Breast cancer status was determined for 42,760 women.
“The original DMIST results showed that digital was statistically similar to film in the overall screening population but performed better than film in pre- and perimenopausal women under 50,” Pisano said.
For this paper, the researchers sought to retrospectively compare the accuracy of digital mammography versus film mammography in subgroups defined by combinations of age, menopausal status and breast density, using either biopsy results or follow-up information.