Up-to-date breast cancer imaging

Abstract

Introduction. Breast cancer is a major health and economic problem in Serbia. On the one hand, most patients see a the doctor at an advanced stage of the disease, and on the other hand, screening response rate is low. Early detection increases the chances of survival. Digital mammography is the gold standard in breast cancer imaging, together with supplemental ultrasound and tomosynthesis. Mammography combined with tomosynthesis has a greater detection rate regardless of breast density, although the difference is more pronounced in high-density lesions, and it has fewer falsenegative results than mammography alone. Ultrasound, apart from being a complementary method, is ideal for ultrasound guided breast biopsy. Magnetic resonance mammography is an imaging method with the highest sensitivity in the detection of invasive breast cancer and has an important role in the evaluation of the post-therapeutic response and in preoperative preparation. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy measures the choline levels and helps to differentiate malignant from benign lesions. It is also a promising method for early assessment of the post-therapeutic response. Positron emission tomography is likely to gain more significant roles in breast cancer imaging in the near future, especially in measuring the treatment response.