The politics of breast imaging.

There are numerous political issues concerned with the roles of breast imaging in the detection, diagnosis, and management of breast cancer. These include issues regarding screening mammography, quality control, and results including cost-effectiveness of medical-legal considerations, but also their relation to overall health care of other societal needs.

Diagnostic accuracy of Fischer Senoscan Digital Mammography versus screen-film mammography in a diagnostic mammography population.

Rationale And Objectives: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of the Fischer Senoscan Digital Mammography System with that of standard screen-film mammography in a population of women presenting for screening or diagnostic mammography.

Materials And Methods: Enrollment of patients took place at six different breast-imaging centers between 1997 and 1999. A total of 247 cases were selected for inclusion in the final reader study.

Factors predicting successful needle-localized breast biopsy.

Rationale And Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify factors that predict successful removal of nonpalpable breast lesions with mammography-guided needle-localized breast biopsy.

Materials And Methods: Of the 455 consecutive patients referred for needle-localized breast biopsy of one or more nonpalpable breast lesions between January 1990 and December 1994, 272 (59.8%) had sufficiently complete data to be included in this study.

Diagnostic accuracy of digital mammography in patients with dense breasts who underwent problem-solving mammography: effects of image processing and lesion type.

Purpose: To determine effects of lesion type (calcification vs mass) and image processing on radiologist's performance for area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity for detection of masses and calcifications with digital mammography in women with mammographically dense breasts.

Materials And Methods: This study included 201 women who underwent digital mammography at seven U.S.

Interpretation of digital mammograms: comparison of speed and accuracy of soft-copy versus printed-film display.

Purpose: To compare the speed and accuracy of the interpretations of digital mammograms by radiologists by using printed-film versus soft-copy display.

Materials And Methods: After being trained in interpretation of digital mammograms, eight radiologists interpreted 63 digital mammograms, all with old studies for comparison. All studies were interpreted by all readers in soft-copy and printed-film display, with interpretations of images in the same cases at least 1 month apart.