Scintimammography: an adjunctive test for the detection of breast cancer.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To describe the diagnostic utility of scintimammography in patients with a breast mass, including patients who have undergone previous breast surgery or radiotherapy. DESIGN: Descriptive outcome study. SETTING: A university teaching hospital and a private hospital breast clinic in New South Wales. SUBJECTS: 115 consecutively referred women investigated by x-ray mammography and scintimammography before surgical excision biopsy of a breast mass. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Sensitivity and specificity of x-ray mammography and scintimammography in the detection of breast cancer overall, and in women who had or had not undergone previous breast surgery. RESULTS: 44 (38%) patients had undergone previous breast surgery or external beam radiotherapy, including nine with bilateral silicone breast implants. The overall (n = 115) sensitivity for the detection of breast cancer with scintimammography was 84%, compared with 66% for x-ray mammography (P = 0.004), and the respective specificities were 84% and 67% (P = 0.194). For patients who had a history of previous breast surgery, the respective sensitivities of the two tests were 83% and 50% (P = 0.006), compared with 85% and 73% (P = 0.087) for patients who had had no previous surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Scintimammography offers additional diagnostic advantage in the detection of breast cancer in patients who have had previous breast surgery or local radiotherapy.