Impact of Digital Breast Tomosynthesis Adoption of Facilities' Screening Volume
More DBT doesn't mean fewer screening exams
A recent BCSC analysis addressed growing concerns about decreasing screening capacity in the U.S. and its potential exacerbation by the adoption of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) screening. DBT, which holds promise for decreasing the recall rate and increasing cancer detection, doubles radiologist interpretation time. Thus, there is concern that facilities would not be able to accommodate as many screening exams in the era of DBT. However, across fifteen facilities from five BCSC registries that adopted DBT between 2011 and 2014, monthly screening volumes remained stable between the 12-month pre-adoption and 12-month post-adoption periods, accounting for confounding factors such as changes in the total number of mammography units at each facility and the opening or closing of nearby screening facilities. The BCSC team concluded that there was no evidence of screening volume decrease with the adoption of DBT, which is good news for U.S. women already facing fewer available screening facilities over time.
The full article can be found here: https://www.ajronline.org/doi/abs/10.2214/AJR.17.19350
This research study was also highlighted on AuntMinnie.com.
Posted by: Christoph I. Lee, MD