Digital breast tomosynthesis (3D-mammography) screening: data and implications for population screening.

The evidence on digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), or quasi-3D-mammography, for population breast screening has emerged rapidly: two prospective and several retrospective studies provide convincing evidence that mammography with DBT improves screening detection measures compared with standard mammography. Based on population screening studies (which have used various methodologies), adjunct DBT's incremental breast cancer detection is in the range of 0.5-2.7/1000 screens, and the absolute false recall reduction attributed to DBT is in the range of 0.8-3.6%. Randomized controlled trials assessing the impact of DBT on interval cancer rates as a surrogate for screening benefit would provide critical evidence to underpin population screening policy and practice, and could be designed to also address existing evidence gaps including cost-effectiveness of DBT.