The efficacy of using computer-aided detection (CAD) for detection of breast cancer in mammography screening: a systematic review

Emilie L Henriksen*, Jonathan F Carlsen, Ilse MM Vejborg, Michael B Nielsen, Carsten A Lauridsen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReviewResearchpeer-review

96 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Early detection of breast cancer (BC) is crucial in lowering the mortality.

PURPOSE: To present an overview of studies concerning computer-aided detection (CAD) in screening mammography for early detection of BC and compare diagnostic accuracy and recall rates (RR) of single reading (SR) with SR + CAD and double reading (DR) with SR + CAD.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: PRISMA guidelines were used as a review protocol. Articles on clinical trials concerning CAD for detection of BC in a screening population were included. The literature search resulted in 1522 records. A total of 1491 records were excluded by abstract and 18 were excluded by full text reading. A total of 13 articles were included.

RESULTS: All but two studies from the SR vs. SR + CAD group showed an increased sensitivity and/or cancer detection rate (CDR) when adding CAD. The DR vs. SR + CAD group showed no significant differences in sensitivity and CDR. Adding CAD to SR increased the RR and decreased the specificity in all but one study. For the DR vs. SR + CAD group only one study reported a significant difference in RR.

CONCLUSION: All but two studies showed an increase in RR, sensitivity and CDR when adding CAD to SR. Compared to DR no statistically significant differences in sensitivity or CDR were reported. Additional studies based on organized population-based screening programs, with longer follow-up time, high-volume readers, and digital mammography are needed to evaluate the efficacy of CAD.

Original languageEnglish
JournalActa Radiologica
Volume60
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)13-18
Number of pages6
ISSN0284-1851
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • Breast/diagnostic imaging
  • Breast Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging
  • Early Detection of Cancer/methods
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Mammography/methods
  • Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted/methods
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity

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