Investigation of breast dose in five screening mammography centres in Greece

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to investigate the techniques currently used for screeningmammography in Greece, to estimate the mean glandular dose (MGD) for establishing abaseline radiation dose database, to analyse the effects of various factors on MGD, and tocompare the results with others in the literature. Five mammographic facilities and 250women having as a routine screening mammogram one craniocaudal (CC) and onemediolateral oblique (MLO) projection in each breast were included in the study. Theparameters recorded were age, weight, compressed breast thickness (CBT), tubepotential (kV), tube loading (mA s) and MLO projection angle. Large differences wereobserved among the different mammography facilities, mainly in terms of the tubepotential setting and the MLO angle used. The average MGD per exposure was1.4 ± 0.6 mGy while the respective averages separately for the CC and MLO projections were1.2 ± 0.5 and 1.5 ± 0.7 mGy, respectively. The average MGD values recorded in this study were below the limit of2 mGy established for the reference medium-sized breast of 4.5 cm CBT. However, thevariety of techniques observed revealed the need for a nationwide survey concerningscreening mammography in Greece.