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Review
. 2023 May 30;11(11):1596.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare11111596.

History of Mammography: Analysis of Breast Imaging Diagnostic Achievements over the Last Century

Luca Nicosia  1 , Giulia Gnocchi  2 , Ilaria Gorini  3 , Massimo Venturini  4   5 , Federico Fontana  4   5 , Filippo Pesapane  1 , Ida Abiuso  6 , Anna Carla Bozzini  1 , Maria Pizzamiglio  1 , Antuono Latronico  1 , Francesca Abbate  1 , Lorenza Meneghetti  1 , Ottavia Battaglia  2 , Giuseppe Pellegrino  2 , Enrico Cassano  1
Affiliations
Review

History of Mammography: Analysis of Breast Imaging Diagnostic Achievements over the Last Century

Luca Nicosia et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common forms of cancer and a leading cause of mortality in women. Early and correct diagnosis is, therefore, essential to save lives. The development of diagnostic imaging applied to the breast has been impressive in recent years and the most used diagnostic test in the world is mammography, a low-dose X-ray technique used for imaging the breast. In the first half of the 20th century, the diagnosis was in practice only clinical, with consequent diagnostic delay and an unfavorable prognosis in the short term. The rise of organized mammography screening has led to a remarkable reduction in mortality through the early detection of breast malignancies. This historical review aims to offer a complete panorama of the development of mammography and breast imaging during the last century. Through this study, we want to understand the foundations of the pillar of radiology applied to the breast through to the most modern applications such as contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM), artificial intelligence, and radiomics. Understanding the history of the development of diagnostic imaging applied to the breast can help us understand how to better direct our efforts toward an increasingly personalized and effective diagnostic approach. The ultimate goal of imaging applied to the detection of breast malignancies should be to reduce mortality from this type of disease as much as possible. With this paper, we want to provide detailed documentation of the main steps in the evolution of breast imaging for the diagnosis of breast neoplasms; we also want to open up new scenarios where the possible current and future applications of imaging are aimed at being more precise and personalized.

Keywords: breast cancer; breast cancer screening; contrast-enhanced mammography; digital breast tomosynthesis; history; mammography.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A 45-year-old woman with infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the right breast. In the figure, we can observe a craniocaudal (a) and mediolateral oblique projection (b) radiogram of the right breast with the presence of polymorphic microcalcifications extended to the upper sectors (arrow).
Figure 2
Figure 2
A CEM recombined image (after injection of contrast medium) from a 48-year-old woman with dense breasts.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Some of the main achievements of mammography over time.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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