Role of Dual Energy Contrast Enhanced Mammography in Characterization of Lesions in Edematous Breast

Abstract

orldwide, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed life-threatening cancer in women and the leading cause of cancer death among women. Breast edema can be caused by a variety of pathologic processes of benign or malignant diseases. It may occur with inflammatory breast carcinoma, lymphatic obstruction, mastitis, lymphoma, post-radiation changes or systemic conditions such as congestive heart failure and nephritic/nephrotic syndrome. Initial mammography and breast ultrasound examination are the routine investigative modalities utilized for breast lesions. Unfortunately, the breast edema lowers the sensitivity of the mammography and ultrasonography result frequently in nonspecific findings. Contrast-enhanced digital mammography is a new breast imaging technique that aims at demonstrating breast carcinoma angiogenesis. Dual energy contrast enhanced mammography performed by acquisition of a pair of low and high-energy images only after contrast medium injection. The dual energy technique do not provide information about the kinetic of tumor enhancement but allows the acquisition of multiple views of the two breasts.