Brit J Cancer: Increased ultrasound in breast cancer screening for women with dense breasts

Breast target imaging does not effectively detect breast cancer in dense breastsIn a recent study published in the journal British Journal of Cancer, researchers searched the Medline, Cochrane, EMBASE and Google Scholar databases from January 1, 1980 to April 10, 2019, to identify women with dense breasts who were screened for mammograms (M) and/or ultrasound (US screening)The researchers used a random effect model for meta-analysisA total of 21 studies were included in the analysisThe combined sensitivity of patients using M and M-US alone was 74% and 96%, respectively, while the specificity of the two methods was 93% and 87%, respectivelyThe screening sensitivity of M-US was significantly higher than that of the individual M-tests (risk ratio: separate M vsM-US-0.699, P-0.001), but the slight difference in specificity was statistically significant (risk ratio of 1.060, P-0.001)After the initial mammogram imaging results were negative, follow-up US's comprehensive diagnostic performance had higher comprehensive sensitivity (96%) and specificity (88%)These findings were supported by subgroup analysis by study country, US method, and US inspection timeThus, breast cancer screening with US supplementation in dense breasts has a higher detection sensitivity than using M aloneHowever, US slightly reduces diagnostic specificity for breast cancerThe cost-effectiveness of increasing US screening in the detection of dense breast malignancies should also be considered