Association of breast cancer with MRI background parenchymal enhancement: the IMAGINE case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) on breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be associated with breast cancer risk, but previous studies of the association are equivocal and limited by incomplete blinding of BPE assessment. In this study, we evaluated the association between BPE and breast cancer based on fully blinded assessments of BPE in the unaffected breast. METHODS: The Imaging and Epidemiology (IMAGINE) study is a multicenter breast cancer case-control study of women receiving diagnostic, screening, or follow-up breast MRI, recruited from three comprehensive cancer centers in the USA. Cases had a first diagnosis of unilateral breast cancer and controls had no history of or current breast cancer. A single board-certified breast radiologist with 12 years' experience, blinded to case-control status and clinical information, assessed the unaffected breast for BPE without view of the affected breast of cases (or the corresponding breast laterality of controls). The association between BPE and breast cancer was estimated by multivariable logistic regression separately for premenopausal and postmenopausal women. RESULTS: The analytic dataset included 835 cases and 963 controls. Adjusting for fibroglandular tissue (breast density), age, race/ethnicity, BMI, parity, family history of breast cancer, BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations, and other confounders, moderate/marked BPE (vs minimal/mild BPE) was associated with breast cancer among premenopausal women [odds ratio (OR) 1.49, 95% CI 1.05-2.11; p = 0.02]. Among postmenopausal women, mild/moderate/marked vs minimal BPE had a similar, but statistically non-significant, association with breast cancer (OR 1.45, 95% CI 0.92-2.27; p = 0.1). CONCLUSIONS: BPE is associated with breast cancer in premenopausal women, and possibly postmenopausal women, after adjustment for breast density and confounders. Our results suggest that BPE should be evaluated alongside breast density for inclusion in models predicting breast cancer risk.

Clinical implementation of synthesized mammography with digital breast tomosynthesis in a routine clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: Most published studies evaluating digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) included a separate 2-dimensional full-field digital mammogram (FFDM) for DBT screening protocols, increasing radiation from screening mammography. Synthesized mammography (SM) creates a 2-dimensional image from the DBT source data, and if used in place of FFDM, it reduces radiation of DBT screening. This study evaluated the implementation of SM + DBT in routine screening practice in terms of recall rates, cancer detection rates (CDR), % of minimal cancers, % of node-positive cancers, and positive predictive values (PPV). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multivariate retrospective institutional analysis was performed on 31,979 women who obtained screening mammography (10/2013-12/2015) with cohorts divided by modality (SM + DBT, FFDM + DBT, and FFDM). We adjusted for comparison mammograms, age, breast density, and the interpreting radiologist. Recall type was analyzed for differences (focal asymmetry, asymmetry, masses, calcifications, architectural distortion). RESULTS: SM + DBT significantly decreased the recall rate compared to FFDM (5.52 vs. 7.83%, p < 0.001) with no differences in overall CDR (p = 0.66), invasive and/or in situ CDR, or percentages of minimal and node-negative cancers. PPV1 significantly increased with SM + DBT relative to FFDM (9.1 vs. 6.2%, p = 0.02). SM + DBT did not differ significantly in recall rate or overall CDR compared to FFDM + DBT. There were statistically significant differences in certain findings recalled by screening modality (e.g., focal asymmetries). CONCLUSIONS: SM + DBT reduces false positives compared to FFDM, while maintaining the CDR and other desirable audit outcome data. SM + DBT is more accurate than FFDM alone, and is a desirable alternative to FFDM + DBT, given the added benefit of radiation reduction.

Psychological distress, job dissatisfaction, and somatic symptoms in office workers in 6 non-problem buildings in the Midwest.

BACKGROUND: Researchers examined office worker characteristics and reports of non-specific somatic symptoms in 6 non-problem buildings in the Midwestern United States. METHODS: We assessed office workers for demographic characteristics and somatic symptoms that occurred in the workplace. Sampling was conducted over a 1-week period in each building over 4 seasons. Our team administered the Medical Outcome Survey questionnaire, the Brief Symptom Inventory, and the Job Content Questionnaire to individuals at each site, comparing office workers reporting no symptoms to those reporting ≥4 symptoms. RESULTS: Self-reported nonspecific somatic symptoms were frequent in office workers in non-problem buildings. High symptom levels were associated with younger age, female sex, psychological distress, impaired quality of life, and poor job satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that office workers frequently report somatic symptoms they believe are related to the workplace even in buildings considered non-problematic. People with high symptom levels perceived as related to the workplace are psychologically distressed, have impaired quality of life, and feel dissatisfied and powerless in the workplace.