what digital can do
is a new technology. "One advantage to digital mammography
is that it allows us to manipulate the image to improve contrast
and, hopefully, allows us to improve detection of breast cancer,"
radiologists may be able to see a cancer better or be able to better
distinguish a benign abnormality. This is especially critical for
women who have dense breasts. The tissue in dense breasts appears
white on X-ray film, as do cancerous cells, making it more difficult
to detect cancer, Lindfors explained.
be better because we can enhance certain features to aid visualization
of those things we can't see in a dense breast with regular mammography,"
Lindfors said. "But we really don't know the answer to that
much research out there comparing digital with standard mammography.
Two smaller studies found there was no increased sensitivity with
digital mammography, but there was a reduction in the number of
times women had to be called back for further examination when the
mammogram showed a possible abnormality.
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