J Surg Ultrasound.  2019 May;6(1):1-7. 10.0000/jsu.2019.6.1.1.

Efficacy of Ultrasonography in Breast Cancer Screening

• Youn HJ
• Ahn HR
• Kang SY
• Jung SH

• KMID: 2465874
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.0000/jsu.2019.6.1.1

Abstract

A good screening test should be widely available, inexpensive, and have high sensitivity and specificity. Mammography is the only screening modality proven to reduce the mortality of breast cancer. On the other hand, with the increasing awareness of mammography limitations, particularly in a dense breast, supplemental screening for breast cancer with other imaging modalities has been expanding. Breast ultrasonography has the advantage of detecting mammographically occult breast cancers in a dense breast. On the other hand, operator dependence, false positive rates, and rising costs due to increased biopsy rates are a problem. Thus far, the guidelines for the implementation of screening breast ultrasonography have not been established. Physicians should be able to understand the efficacy of breast ultrasonography as the screening modality for breast cancer and perform risk-based screening approaches for individual women. This paper reviews the efficacy, limitations and implementation of screening breast ultrasonography for breast cancer.

Keyword

Breast neoplasms; Screening; Ultrasonography; Breast density

MeSH Terms

Biopsy
Breast Neoplasms*
Breast*
Female
Hand
Humans
Mammography
Mass Screening*
Mortality
Sensitivity and Specificity
Ultrasonography*
Ultrasonography, Mammary

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Mammographically occult cancer detected by breast ultrasound in a 64-year-old woman with dense breasts. (A) Gray scale breast ultrasound image shows a 1.2 cm invasive ductal carcinoma with irregular shape and angular margin in the left breast. (B) Corresponding same day mammography cranio-caudal and mediolateral-oblique views show dense breast tissue.

• 

  Fig. 2 Three standard images of breast cancer using automated breast ultrasound in a 42-year-old woman. Cononal view (left), longitudinal (right, upper) and transverse views (right, lower) are synchronously visualized on the screen.

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