The health authority recommends using the 3D mammography technique during screening sessions offered to all women aged 50 to 74, and no longer just 2D. It should prevent more cancers.
Further improve prevention. The High Authority for Health (HAS) recommends that breast cancer screenings be carried out with 3D mammography, also called by tomosynthesis, and no longer just 2D, in a communiqué released this Friday.
“The HAS recommends the integration of mammography by tomosynthesis in organized screening for breast cancer”, she announces.
She specifies that this change must be made “provided that (3D) is systematically associated with the reconstruction of a synthetic 2D image (3D + 2Ds).”
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and is the leading cause of cancer death with 12,000 deaths per year.
A request from the National Cancer Institute
The health authority responded this Friday to a request from the National Cancer Institute (INCa). The latter had contacted the HAS to assess the relevance of the generalization of 3D mammograms to all organized screening sessions for breast cancer.
A first publication followed in 2019. The health authority revealed part of their analysis work devoted to the tomosynthesis technique. The second part is published this Friday.
The HAS indicates that it has conducted a study comparing the use of the classic mammography technique, known as 2D, with 3D, each separately. She also studied the use of the association of 2D and 3D and also compared it to the association of 3D with synthetic image reconstruction (2Ds).
A technique already proven in high-risk patients
3D mammography is “a mammography technique which makes it possible to obtain a digital image reconstituted in three dimensions from images of the breast obtained under different sections (or projections)”, explains the HAS.
This screening technique has already been widely used in France since 2009. But it is mainly performed in patients considered to be at high risk of developing the disease.
With this new recommendation, the HAS intends to generalize this type of imaging which has “shown beneficial results” and would make it possible to further improve the prevention of breast cancer.
Breast cancer screening is proposed and recommended every two years for all women aged 50 to 74, with no particular risk factor. It is fully covered by health insurance.