Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34331118›Full record

ArticleEuropean radiology2022

Virtual clinical trial to compare cancer detection using combinations of 2D mammography, digital breast tomosynthesis and synthetic 2D imaging.

Alistair Mackenzie, Emma L Thomson, Melissa Mitchell, Premkumar Elangovan, Chantal van Ongeval, Lesley Cockmartin, Lucy M Warren, Louise S Wilkinson, Matthew G Wallis, Rosalind M Given-Wilson and 2 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in European radiology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Dependence of observer task on conclusions drawn fromJournal of medical imaging (Bellingham, Wash.) · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.

Alistair MackenzieNational Coordinating Centre for the Physics in Mammography, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, Guildford, UK. alistairmackenzie@nhs.net.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4545-8018
Emma L ThomsonNational Coordinating Centre for the Physics in Mammography, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, Guildford, UK.
Melissa MitchellNational Coordinating Centre for the Physics in Mammography, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, Guildford, UK.
Premkumar ElangovanNational Coordinating Centre for the Physics in Mammography, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, Guildford, UK.
Chantal van OngevalDepartment of Radiology, UZ Leuven, Herestraat 49, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium.
Lesley CockmartinDepartment of Imaging and Pathology, Division of Medical Physics and Quality Assessment, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium.
Lucy M WarrenNational Coordinating Centre for the Physics in Mammography, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, Guildford, UK.
Louise S WilkinsonOxford Breast Imaging Centre, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK.
Matthew G WallisCambridge Breast Unit, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge & NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK.
Rosalind M Given-WilsonDepartment of Radiology, St George's Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK.
David R DanceNational Coordinating Centre for the Physics in Mammography, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, Guildford, UK.
Kenneth C YoungNational Coordinating Centre for the Physics in Mammography, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, Guildford, UK.
University of Surrey · GBRoyal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust · GBCambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust · GBKU Leuven · BEOxford University Hospitals NHS Trust · GBSt George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust · GBUniversitair Ziekenhuis Leuven · BE

Funding

Cancer Research UK 17321
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThis study was designed to compare the detection of subtle lesions (calcification clusters or masses) when using the combination of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and synthetic mammography (SM) with digital mammography (DM) alone or combined with DBT.

methodsA set of 166 cases without cancer was acquired on a DBT mammography system. Realistic subtle calcification clusters and masses in the DM images and DBT planes were digitally inserted into 104 of the acquired cases. Three study arms were created: DM alone, DM with DBT and SM with DBT. Five mammographic readers located the centre of any lesion within the images that should be recalled for further investigation and graded their suspiciousness. A JAFROC figure of merit (FoM) and lesion detection fraction (LDF) were calculated for each study arm. The visibility of the lesions in the DBT images was compared with SM and DM images.

resultsFor calcification clusters, there were no significant differences (p > 0.075) in FoM or LDF. For masses, the FoM and LDF were significantly improved in the arms using DBT compared to DM alone (p < 0.001). On average, both calcification clusters and masses were more visible on DBT than on DM and SM images.

conclusionsThis study demonstrated that masses were detected better with DBT than with DM alone and there was no significant difference (p = 0.075) in LDF between DM&DBT and SM&DBT for calcifications clusters. Our results support previous studies that it may be acceptable to not acquire digital mammography alongside tomosynthesis for subtle calcification clusters and ill-defined masses. KEY POINTS: • The detection of masses was significantly better using DBT than with digital mammography alone. • The detection of calcification clusters was not significantly different between digital mammography and synthetic 2D images combined with tomosynthesis. • Our results support previous studies that it may be acceptable to not acquire digital mammography alongside tomosynthesis for subtle calcification clusters and ill-defined masses for the imaging technology used.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsCalcinosisNeoplasmsBreastFemaleHumansMammographyCancerMammographyScreening

Identifiers

PMID34331118
OpenAlexW3185483711

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.