A review of mammographic positioning image quality criteria for the craniocaudal projection.

Detection of breast cancer is reliant on optimal breast positioning and the production of quality images. Two projections, the mediolateral oblique and craniocaudal (CC), are routinely performed. Determination of successful positioning and inclusion of all breast tissue is achieved through meeting stated image quality criteria. For the CC view, current image quality criteria are inconsistent. Absence of reliable anatomical markers, other than the nipple, further contribute to difficulties in assessing the quality of CC views. The aim of this paper was to explore published international quality standards to identify and find the origin of any CC positioning criteria which might provide for quantitative assessment. The pectoralis major (pectoral) muscle was identified as a key posterior anatomical structure to establish optimum breast tissue inclusion on mammographic projections. It forms the first two of the three main CC metrics that are frequently reported (1) visualization of the pectoral muscle, (2) measurement of the posterior nipple line and (3) depiction of retroglandular fat. This literature review explores the origin of the three metrics, and discusses three key publications, spanning 1992 to 1994, on which subsequent image quality standards have been based. The evidence base to support published CC metrics is sometimes not specified and more often, the same set of publications are cited, most often without critical evaluation. To conclude, there remains uncertainty if the metrics explored for the CC view support objective evaluation and reproducibility to confirm optimal breast positioning and quality images.