Evaluation of breast lesions by digital mammography and ultrasound along with fine-needle aspiration cytology correlation.

Introduction: Screening and diagnostic efforts for breast cancer are critical because the disease has a high rate of successful outcomes with early identification and treatment. The mammography (MG) and Ultrasonography/ ultrasound (USG) are individually effective diagnostic modalities for detection of breast pathologies.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, prospective, hospital-based study was carried out with an aim to evaluate breast lesions using digital MG and ultrasonography (USG) independently and in combination with fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) correlation.

Results: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of MG in detecting carcinoma breast were 77.77%, 97.72%, 87.5%, and 95.55%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of USG in detecting carcinoma breast were 55.55%, 97.72%, 83.33%, and 91.48%, respectively. In our study population, 83.01% of breast lesions were benign, and of them, 77.27% were diagnosed by MG alone and 72.72% were diagnosed by USG alone. When these modalities were combined, 97.72% of the lesions were diagnosed. The correlation coefficients of MG alone (0.792), USG alone (0.631), and MG and USG combination (0.884) with FNAC are all positive, and P values are significant of all the modalities.

Conclusion: This study confirms that the MG and ultrasound (USG) when combined have significantly higher sensitivity and NPV than observed for a single modality in detecting the both benign and malignant lesions of the breast.