Discomfort Assessment of Senographe Pristina Patient-assisted Versus Standard Compression Mode and Quality Assessment of Screening Mammograms

Leading authorities on breast cancer recommend regular screening mammography for women aged 40 years and older as a means of early detection for breast cancer, which can lead to increased survival rates and more treatment options. Numerous randomized trials have demonstrated that regular mammographic screening reduces breast cancer mortality, with more than 40% reduction in breast cancer deaths. Amidst the success of screening mammography, clinicians struggle to maintain patient participation in regular screening programs. Notably, a systematic review by Whelehan, et al. concluded that pain experienced during screening mammography (e.g. compression pain) contributed to reduced rates of repeat participation in regular screening programs. Adequate breast compression during mammography creates uniform thickness and flattens tissues, which is necessary to obtain sufficient image quality and reduce radiation dose. Various methods are being investigated to maintain sufficient compression while reducing pain associated with mammography. Specifically, studies have shown that a personalized approach to compression can significantly reduce pain intensity and discomfort experienced by patients while maintaining diagnostic image quality. Patient-controlled compression allows the patient to control the amount of compression force during mammography and is a personalized approach that has demonstrated successful pain reduction in mammography. GE Healthcare's Senographe Pristina, an innovative mammography platform that provides both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) imaging capabilities, offers standard and patient-controlled compression modes. The study described herein is being conducted to compare discomfort experienced by asymptomatic women undergoing full-field digital (FFDM) 2D screening mammography with standard and patient-controlled compression modes of Senographe Pristina. Results from this study may be used to support future regulatory submissions. The population of this study will consist of adult asymptomatic women presenting for screening FFDM. Eligible patients will be enrolled and will undergo bilateral two-view (CC and MLO) imaging with Senographe Pristina. Each subject will use both standard and patient-assisted compression modes, with one mode randomly assigned to the right breast and the other mode assigned to the left breast. Immediately following image acquisition (i.e. during decompression), subjects will be asked to rate their level of discomfort using a validated 11-point pain rating scale (numeric rating scale). Additional data collected from each subject will include demographic and clinical history information, breast thickness, radiation dose, compression force, and overall patient experience feedback. Pain scores will be summarized with descriptive statistics and other endpoint data will be analyzed using general statistical methods. Pain results will be compared according to compression mode and multivariate analysis will be performed to assess the potential effect of other variables. The technical/clinical quality assessment of mammograms is essential to ensure that high quality images are consistently used in a breast cancer screening program. Poor image quality may lead to missed diagnoses and compromised detection of breast cancers. In this sense, it has been reported that high image quality leads to higher detection rates and fewer interval cancers. In order to assess the technical/clinical quality of screening mammograms, the PGMI (perfect, good, moderately good, and inadequate) system will be used. With this system the investigators routinely evaluate the technical/clinical quality of screening mammograms in our center. A random sample of 500 women with two (2) Medio Lateral Oblique (MLO) and two (2) Cranial Caudal (CC) views produced with Senographe Pristina (291 with patient-assisted compression and 291 with standard compression mode) will be assessed by three highly trained radiologists. Technical/clinical image quality will be compared according to compression mode and multivariate analysis will be performed to assess the potential effect of other variables. Additionally, the investigators will compare the technical/clinical image quality of mammograms produced by Senographe Pristina with the image quality observed in the previous routine evaluations performed in our center.