The Truth About Digital Mammography

A 2005 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that digital mammography was significantly better than conventional film mammography in detecting breast cancer in women younger than age 50, those with dense breasts and premenopausal and perimenopausal women. Interestingly, the diagnostic accuracy between digital and film mammography was found to be the same overall in all other groups.

* Dense breast tissue can mask some cancers from mammographic detection. It has been shown that women of Asian ancestry tend to have dense breasts. Digital mammography offers a welcomed advantage with the ability to screen women with dense breasts with more accuracy.

* Premenopausal women are women who are still having periods. Perimenopausal women are those who are no longer regular but who have had a period in the last 12 months.

You might be wondering what digital and conventional mammographies are and how they’re different. Conventional film screen mammography uses low energy x-rays that pass through a compressed breast. The x-rays are absorbed by the x-ray film, which is then developed similar to a traditional photo camera. The radiologist, who is a doctor who specializes in reading x-rays, then reviews this film, which looks like a photograph negative. With digital mammography, low energy x-rays pass through the breast just like the conventional mammograms, but are recorded differently. In digital mammography, the images are displayed on a video monitor like a television and can also be printed onto film. This procedure is similar to a digital camera. With the digital mammogram, the radiologist can magnify an area, change the contrast and alter the brightness in order to better evaluate the picture taken.

Is the digital mammogram available to you? Only 8% of mammography facilities nationwide currently offer digital examinations. We are fortunate that this technology is readily available in Honolulu. There are currently 3 digital mammography units at Kapi’olani Breast Center, and 2 digital mammography units at Kapi’olani Women’s Center at Pali Momi. When you or your physician schedules your mammogram, a digital mammogram can be requested. It’s just that simple.

Diagnostic Performance of Digital Versus Film Mammography for Breast-Cancer Screening. The New England Journal of Medicine, September 16, 2005