ABSTRACT
Mammography has been the mainstay of breast imaging since the 1980s (see Chapter 1 for fundamentals of digital mammography). Because of widespread mammographic screening, as well as improved treatments for breast cancer, the death rate from breast cancer has decreased by approximately 30% since 1990 (American Cancer Society 2009). ™at said, mammography is far from perfect and its limitations are well known. Cancers may not be detected on mammography, especially in women with dense breasts. ™e reported sensitivity of mammography ranges in the literature from 63% to 98%; in dense breasts, cancers may be obscured by surrounding dense tissue and sensitivity in these women may be as low 30% to 48% (Berg et al. 2004).
