Study: Digital mammography not as cost-effective as thought

Digital mammography may be an amazing tool, but it's only cost-effective to use it with younger women or women with dense breasts, according to a new article appearing in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The study, which involved more than 42,000 women in the U.S. and Canada, was done as part of the Digital Mammography Imaging Screening Trial done through the American College of Radiology Imaging Network.  According to the study, conventional film mammography appeared to do a better job for older women with nondense breasts (though the results were not statistically significant). Researchers concluded that for some groups of women, the results of using more-expensive digital mammography technology didn't justify the added costs.

To find out more about the study:
- read this Medical News Today piece
- read the Annals abstract

Related Article:
Digital mammography doesn't improve detection rates. Report