American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) Digital Mammography (DMIST) Trial
Women with Dense Breasts, Women Younger than 50, and Those Who Are Premenopausal or Perimenopausal May Benefit from Digital Mammograms
September 19, 2005Contact: Shawn Farley
(703) 648-8936
(703) 203-0977
E-mail: shawnf@acr.org
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PHILADELPHIA — Digital mammography detected significantly (up to 28%) more cancers than screen film mammography in women 50 and younger, premenopausal and perimenopausal women, and women with dense breasts, according to results from the ACRIN Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST). However, the ACRIN trial, one of the largest breast cancer screening studies ever performed, showed no difference between digital and film mammography in detecting breast cancer for the general population of women. The results were reported September 16, 2005 in a special online publication of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Conducted by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) and funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the trial included researchers at 33 sites across the United States and Canada. "The groups of women who may benefit from digital technology are those in which standard mammography has been less effective. These results will give clinicians better guidance and greater choice in deciding which women would benefit most from various forms of mammography," said study principal investigator and senior author Etta Pisano, MD, Kenan Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Director of the Biomedical Research Imaging Center at the UNC, and member of the UNC-Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. "Of particular interest, the cancers detected only by digital mammography are the types of cancers that must be detected early to save more lives through screening," Pisano said.
The Center for Biostatistics at Brown Medical School developed the study's statistical design and analyzed the results. Starting in October 2001, DMIST enrolled 49,528 women at 33 sites in the United States and Canada who had no signs of breast cancer. Women in the trial were given both digital and film mammograms. Mammograms were interpreted independently by two different radiologists. Breast cancer status of DMIST participants was determined through available breast biopsy information within 15 months of study entry or through follow-up mammography 10 months or later after study entry.
Bruce Hillman, MD, Network Chair of ACRIN, said, "I am very proud of the accomplishments of the DMIST researchers. The DMIST team of clinicians and scientists did a truly miraculous job in completing this complex trial quickly and producing these important results. This landmark trial, along with others currently being conducted by ACRIN, will influence the appropriate care for women everywhere."
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Digital mammography takes an electronic image of the breast and stores it directly in a computer, allowing the recorded data to be enhanced, magnified, or manipulated for further evaluation. The electronic image also can be printed on film. Film mammography units use film to both capture and display the image. The sensitivity of film mammography is somewhat limited in women with dense breasts, a population at higher risk for breast cancer. General Electric Medical Systems, Fuji Medical Systems, Fischer Imaging, and Hologic digital mammography systems were tested in the trial. Of these, all except for the Fuji system are already U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved and available for clinical use in the United States.
"This digital mammography study demonstrates how new technologies are expanding our ability to detect breast cancer earlier in more women. The study corroborates NCI's commitment to exploring advanced technologies in a wide range of clinical applications and the critical role they can play in making cancer a manageable disease," said NCI Director Andrew C. Von Eschenbach, MD
According to the NCI, breast cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in the United States and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in women. An estimated 211,240 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and an estimated 40,410 women will die of the disease in the United States in 2005.
To read the study in its entirety, click here.
ACRIN Digital Mammography Trial Receives National Media Attention
The ACRIN Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST), one of the largest breast cancer screening studies ever performed, has received national news attention since principal investigator, Etta Pisano, MD, FACR, presented the study results at the ACRIN fall meeting on Friday, September 16, 2005. The results were reported in a special online publication of the New England Journal of Medicine the same day.
To date, there have been approximately 400 news articles published regarding the study results, including reports in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today. There have also been broadcast reports on NBC Nightly News, NBC Today Show, ABC World News Tonight, CNN, and dozens of local TV stations nationwide.
The ACRIN study showed that digital mammography detected significantly (up to 28%) more cancers than screen film mammography in women 50 and younger, in premenopausal and perimenopausal women, and in women with dense breasts, yet the study showed no difference between digital and film mammography in detecting breast cancer for the general population of women.
Click Here to read the USA Today article in its entirety (free registration may be required).
Click Here to read the Washington Post article in its entirety (free registration may be required).
Click Here to read the DMIST study as published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.