Mammography

Mammography is the process of using low-dose X-rays (usually around 0.7 mSv) to examine the human breast. It is used to look for different types of tumors and cysts. Only mammography has been proven to reduce mortality from breast cancer. In some countries routine (annual to five-yearly) mammography of older women is encouraged as a screening method to diagnose early breast cancer.

At this stage mammography is still the modality of choice for screening of early breast cancer. It is the gold-standard for other imaging methods such as ultrasound and NMR-tomography. CT has no real role in diagnosing breast cancer at the present. Ultrasound is useful as an adjunct to mammography in some cases, as is Magnetic resonance imaging, but neither should be used as a screening method. Only Mammography has been proven useful for screening.