"Fast Facts": The DMIST Study Results
Primary Finding
The Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST) showed that, for the entire
population of women studied, digital and film mammography had very similar
screening accuracy.
Who would benefit from digital screening mammograms?
Women who fit ANY of these three categories:
-
under age 50 (no matter what level of breast tissue density they had)
-
of any age with heterogeneously (very dense) or extremely dense breasts
-
pre- or perimenopausal women of any age (defined as women who had a last
menstrual period within 12 months of their mammograms).
Who would not benefit from digital screening mammography?
Women who fit ALL of the three categories:
-
over age 50
-
those who do not have dense or heterogeneously (very dense) breast tissue
-
those who are not still menstruating.
Should all women get a digital mammogram?
No. At present, only 8 percent of the mammography units in the U.S. are digital
systems, whereas approximately 40 percent of women undergoing screening
mammography have dense breasts.
Given these results, should women move up or skip their next regularly scheduled
mammogram?
Women should have their next mammogram when they are scheduled for it. It would
be better to have a film mammogram when a woman is supposed to have her next
mammogram than for her to delay her screening in order to get a digital
mammogram. No woman should defer screening with mammography just because of a
lack of access to digital mammography. Film mammography has been successfully
used as a screening tool for breast cancer for over 35 years.
There is no reason for any woman to receive an extra mammogram because of these
trial results. That is, if a woman has had a mammogram in the last year, and
she has no breast signs or symptoms, she should undergo her next screening
mammogram only when she is due for one, not earlier than she would ordinarily
be scheduled.
Multiple exposures to obtain an accurate view of a portion of the breast may be
necessary with digital mammography. Is additional dose an issue? Increasing
the number of images per view does not increase the dose dramatically because
not all breast tissue is exposed in each view. For example, taking two digital
images of the breast instead of one film mammogram does not double the dose
overall, since only a portion of the breast is exposed twice. On average, the
larger number of digital images required is more than offset by the lower doses
delivered by digital mammography for women with thicker and denser breasts.
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