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Comparative Study
. 2018 May;24(3):369-372.
doi: 10.1111/tbj.12942. Epub 2017 Nov 5.

Performance characteristics of digital vs film screen mammography in community practice

Firas Dabbous  1 , Therese A Dolecek  2 , Sarah M Friedewald  3 , Katherine Y Tossas-Milligan  4 , Tere Macarol  5 , Wm Thomas Summerfelt  6 , Garth H Rauscher  7
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Performance characteristics of digital vs film screen mammography in community practice

Firas Dabbous et al. Breast J. 2018 May.

Abstract

We compared the performance characteristics of 297 629 full field digital (FFDM) and 416 791 screen film mammograms (SFM). Sensitivity increased with age, decreased with breast density, and was lower for more aggressive and lobular tumors. While sensitivity did not differ significantly by modality, specificity was generally 1%-2% points higher for FFDM than for SFM across age and breast density categories. The lower recall rate for FFDM vs SFM in our study may partially explain performance differences by modality. In this large health care organization, modest gains in performance were achieved with the introduction of FFDM as a replacement for SFM.

Keywords: breast cancer; comparative effectiveness; mammography screening; sensitivity; specificity.

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References

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