Presenter Dr. Stamatia Destounis of Elizabeth Wende Breast Care in Rochester, NY, will share findings from a study conducted to assess outcomes of nearly 24,800 screening breast ultrasound performed between 2013 and 2017 in women with dense tissue but no other risk factors (34%) compared with women with dense tissue with at least one risk factor (66%).
In patients with known risk factors, 550 findings were identified. Of these, 2.4% were BI-RADS 4 or 5 lesions; 67% were identified on ultrasound only, and 50 cancers were found. In patients without known risk factors, 243 findings were identified. Of these, 2% were BI-RADS 4 or 5. Of 109 findings identified on ultrasound only, 14 were malignant.
Ultrasound-only cancer detection was 3.2 per 1,000 in women with known risk factors and 1.4 per 1,000 in those with no known risk factors, according to the researchers.
"The cancers visualized on ultrasound only in the average-risk patients were all lower grade, node negative, and averaged 1.2 cm, demonstrating there may be value of ultrasound in this population," Destounis and colleagues concluded.
