Like many types of cancer, breast cancer is also increasingly curable. The important thing in these cases would be to apply the right preventive measures to allow early detection. Early diagnosis of a malignant breast lesion enables early intervention and, in most cases, a complete recovery. Mammography is the diagnostic test that can be used. Thanks to the use of the latest technology, the digital mammograph with tomosynthesis, it is now possible to carry out a more accurate investigation of the breast, thus making the diagnostic result more effective than conventional mammography.
On this subject we interviewed Dr. Oana Moscovici, a specialist in Medical Radiology at Humanitas and in Humanitas Medical Care Varese and Arese.
New DBT technology available at Humanitas
“The DBT technology, Digital Breast Tomosynthesis, which is fitted to the new mammograph in Humanitas Medical Care Varese, is the top of the range of this equipment and allows the acquisition of high-resolution images through a latest-generation system that combines the principles of classical mammography with those of tomography. Tomosynthesis produces a stratified reconstruction of the breast,” explains the expert. “DBT is a more complete investigation compared to the traditional mammography which, by a negligible increase in acquisition time, allows the radiologist to go beyond the limits of traditional examination and obtain a more accurate interpretation of both synthetic images and those obtained separately at different depths of the mammary gland,” emphasizes the doctor. “In this way – she adds – the so-called summation lesions created by the overlapping of the mammary tissue are reduced or eliminated altogether and the pathological changes masked within the mammary parenchyma are better delineated, especially in patients with dense fibrogynous structure”.
Advantages of the tomosynthesis from the age of 40
The mammography with tomosynthesis, examination in agreement with the National Health Service, is recommended to all women from 40 years of age in particular to those who have fibrogynous breasts dense or moderately dense – concluded the radiologist -. In addition to the greater diagnostic accuracy, which allows the detection of even very small lesions, the mammography with tomosynthesis offers two other advantages compared to conventional mammography 2D, namely a shorter time of compression of the breast, thus reducing pain and the risk of artifacts from movement, and a dose radiant customized according to the type of breast, calculated automatically by the machine at the time of scanning.
