Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging for the Detection of Breast Cancer in Dense Versus Nondense Breasts

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) for the detection of breast cancer in dense versus nondense breasts. MATERIALS AND METHODS. This was a retrospective study of 341 women with biopsy-proven breast cancer diagnosed from January 2004 to August 2009 who underwent BSGI before surgical excision. Patients with predominantly fatty replaced (BI-RADS density 1) or scattered fibroglandular tissue (BI-RADS density 2) breasts were classified as nondense, and those with heterogeneously dense (BI-RADS density 3) or extremely dense tissue (BIRADS density 4) were classified as dense. BSGI examinations exhibiting focal increased radiotracer uptake in the area of biopsy-proven cancer were classified as positive according to BSGI reports in the medical record. The sensitivity of BSGI was calculated using Microsoft Excel 2003. Between-group differences were evaluated statistically using the Student t test for continuous variables and the chi-square tes...