Digital Breast Tomosynthesis for Breast Cancer Screening

Barry, Kathleen MD
Evans, Chelsea MD

University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts

Address correspondence to Kathleen Barry, MD, at [email protected]. Reprints are not available from the authors.

Author disclosure: No relevant financial affiliations.

American Family Physician 103(7):p 430-431, April 01, 2021.

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), or 3D mammography, is a breast imaging technique in which multiple radiographs are used to reconstruct a 3D picture. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2011, DBT is purported to be more sensitive and specific than digital mammography, especially in women with dense breasts. Although DBT has not been universally accepted as the standard for breast cancer screening, it has supplanted digital mammography for screening in some parts of the United States; areas with higher DBT use tend to be wealthier and have larger White populations.