Breast tomosynthesis: A replacement or an adjunct to conventional diagnostic mammography?

Mammography is the current standard for breast cancer screening and diagnosis. Conventional mammography, a 2D representation of a 3D structure, is limited in sensitivity and specificity by overlapping tissue. Digital breast tomosynthesis, or 3D mammography, overcomes this major limitation. Since it was approved in the US as an adjunct to 2D mammography in February 2011, digital breast tomosynthesis has become more widely available. Review of the limited world literature on digital breast tomosynthesis shows it to be a promising technique increasing the accuracy of mammography by improving detection, localization, and characterization of findings. Here we review the potential benefits and disadvantages of digital breast tomosynthesis for screening and diagnosis, and describe the latest advances in tomosynthesis technology, including synthesized 2D imaging that may render the conventional 2D mammogram obsolete. © Springer Science+Business Media 2014.