Publications by authors named "Emily Knippa"
Purpose: Mitigating false negative imaging studies remains an important issue given its association with worse morbidity and mortality in patients with breast cancer. We aimed to identify risk factors that predispose to false negative breast imaging exams.
Methods: In an IRB-approved, HIPAA compliant retrospective study, we identified all patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer within 365 days of a negative imaging study assessed as BI-RADS 1-3 between January 1, 2014 and January 31, 2020.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to compare patient satisfaction and anxiety levels among women undergoing core-needle breast biopsies on the same day vs. a later date, analyzing responses from 974 participants over a 16-month period.
- Findings showed that same-day biopsies led to significantly higher satisfaction with the overall breast-care experience and wait times, but also resulted in greater anxiety both before and after the procedure.
- The analysis indicated that effective communication with radiologists reduced prebiopsy anxiety, while certain demographic differences, particularly among Black women, revealed patterns of lower prebiopsy satisfaction and varying postbiopsy anxiety levels.
Article Synopsis
- Radial scars (RS) are low-risk breast lesions that can act like cancer, and there’s ongoing debate about how to manage them when they're not atypical on biopsy.
- A study examined 123 patients with RS without atypia, finding that most opted for surgical excision, while a smaller group was monitored with imaging for over 24 months.
- The findings showed a low upgrade rate to malignancy (1%) and a moderate upgrade to high-risk lesions (16%), suggesting that careful imaging follow-up could be a reasonable alternative to surgery for these patients.
The diagnostic performance of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has been shown to be equal to that of diagnostic mammography. However, the value of additional mammographic views in diagnostic evaluations remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of diagnostic breast ultrasound (US) alone with that of combined US and diagnostic mammography for specific noncalcified recalled abnormalities detected on screening DBT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Reporting of United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 results will transition from a numerical score to a pass or fail result. We sought an objective analysis to determine changes in the relative importance of resident application attributes when numerical Step 1 results are replaced.
Methods: A discrete choice experiment was designed to model radiology resident selection and determine the relative weights of various application factors when paired with a numerical or pass or fail Step 1 result.
Purpose: To evaluate the surgical upgrade rate to malignancy and high-risk lesions in cases of papilloma without atypia diagnosed with imaging-guided percutaneous core needle biopsy (CNB) and to determine whether any lesion imaging features, biopsy techniques, and pathological factors can predict lesion upgrade to help guide clinical management.
Materials And Methods: Benign papillomas without atypia (n = 399) diagnosed with CNB were retrospectively reviewed. The surgical upgrade rate to malignancy or high-risk lesion (atypical ductal hyperplasia, atypical lobular hyperplasia, lobular carcinoma in-situ, flat epithelial atypia and atypical papilloma) was determined.
Objective: To assess the effect of the colorized display of digital mammograms on observer detection of subtle breast lesions.
Methods: Three separate observer studies compared detection performance using grayscale versus color display of 1) low-contrast mass-like objects in a standardized mammography phantom; 2) simulated microcalcifications in a background of normal breast parenchyma; and 3) standard-of-care clinical digital mammograms with subtle calcifications and masses. Colorization of the images was done by displaying each image pixel in blue, green, and red hues, or gray, maintaining DICOM-calibrated luminance scale and consistent luminance range.
Purpose: The aim of this study was to quantify women's personal estimates of breast cancer risk and frequency of breast cancer thoughts.
Methods: Women from five medical centers were surveyed before their screening mammographic examinations. Participants were queried on their baseline anxiety and demographics, then asked how many times in the past month they had thought about developing breast cancer.
Purpose: To determine women's perceptions of breast cancer risk and thresholds for desiring biopsy when considering BI-RADS 3 and 4A scenarios and recommendations, respectively.
Materials And Methods: Women presenting for screening mammography from five geographically diverse medical centers were surveyed. Demographic information and baseline anxiety were queried.
Purpose: CEST MRI for breast lesion characterization is promising. However, artifacts are prone to develop in breast CEST imaging due to strong lipid signals. The aims of the study are: 1) to develop and validate the CEST-Dixon imaging sequence for simultaneous water-fat separation and B mapping; 2) use the CEST-Dixon method to characterize suspicious lesions in patients undergoing percutaneous biopsy.
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