Women with dense breasts, women younger than 50, and those who are perimenopausal may benefit from digital mammograms.
Preliminary results from a large, clinical trial of digital vs. film mammography show no difference in detecting breast cancer for the general population of women in the trial.
However, those women with dense breasts, who are pre- or perimenopausal (women who had a last menstrual period within 12 months of their mammograms), or who are younger than age 50 may benefit from having a digital rather than a film mammogram.
These results will give clinicians better guidance and greater choice in deciding which women would benefit most from various forms of mammography.
Secondary goals measuring the relative cost-effectiveness of both digital and film technologies, and the effect on participant quality of life due to the expected reduction of false positives, are still being assessed and will be reported at a later date.
This digital mammography study demonstrates how new technologies are expanding our ability to detect breast cancer earlier in more women.
Starting in October 2001, the Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST) enrolled 49,528 women who had no signs of breast cancer at 33 sites in the United States and Canada. Women in the trial were given both digital and film examinations.
Digital mammography takes an electronic image of the breast and stores it directly in a computer, allowing the recorded data to be enhanced, magnified, or manipulated for further evaluation. The electronic image also can be printed on film.
Film mammography units use film to both capture and display the image. The sensitivity of film mammography is somewhat limited in women with dense breasts, a population at higher risk for breast cancer.
General Electric Medical Systems, Fuji Medical Systems, Fischer Imaging, and Hologic digital mammography systems were tested in the trial.