Effectiveness of Mammogram Combined with Ultrasound in Palpable Breast Abnormalities in Krabi Hospital

Mammogram Combined Ultrasound in Palpable Breast Abnormalities

Abstract

         Breast cancer is a major health problem for women around the world. The most common symptom is feeling a lump in the breast. Mammography and ultrasound are accepted as the standard diagnostic tests with high accuracy. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of combined mammogram and ultrasound in patients with palpable breast lumps in Krabi Hospital, as well as the associated factors for breast cancer. Data were collected retrospectively of all women who underwent mammograms and ultrasounds for palpable breast lumps between January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2023. The study cohort included 259 patients presenting with 272 palpable lumps. Benign versus malignant outcomes were determined by pathologic analysis or 12-month clinical or imaging follow-up. The analysis used applies statistics, Chi-square, and odd ratio with 95% confidence for a correlation with breast cancer. Results revealed a higher prevalence of breast cancer in higher age groups. None in the BI-RADS 1, 2 and 3 groups had a malignant tumor, while those in the BI-RADS 4 and 5 groups had malignant tumor rates of 57.5% and 100%, respectively; 93.4% of all breast cancer cases were identified on both mammograms and ultrasounds. The effectiveness for combined mammogram and ultrasound was high, 100% for sensitivity, 88% for specificity, 77.6% for positive predictive value and 100% for negative predictive value. Factors that increased the risk of breast cancer in this study were age ≥ 40 years and lesion size ≥ 2 cm; and BI-RADS 5 group had a higher risk than BI-RADS 4 group. The mammogram combined with ultrasound in Krabi Hospital had comparable high effectiveness with other studies. Imaging has an important role in diagnosis, treatment plan and avoiding unnecessary procedures in patients with palpable abnormalities of the breast.