Strong Compression During Mammography Screening May Be Unnecessary

A researcher in Sweden has found that strong breast compression during mammography screening may not be necessary for improved diagnosis of abnormal changes and tumors.

Previous research has shown that some women decline to undergo regular mammography screening because of the pain from the compression plate that is used, and as a result many women have learned to detect breast cancer at home.

The researcher from Lund University (Lund, Sweden) measured pressure distribution on the breast during mammographic screening and found that compression could be reduced by half with minimal effect on pressure distribution on the central breast areas that are most important for cancer diagnosis.

The researcher used patient data from 20-150 participants from Skåne University Hospital (Lund and Malmö, Sweden) and demonstrated that flexible compression plates can reduce the pressure on stiff tissue close to the chest wall, but increase the pressure on the central areas of the breast.

Using compression plates with pressure sensors before taking the image could also improve measurements. More...