A Review of Breast Imaging for Timely Diagnosis of Disease

• Main Authors: Giulia Bicchierai, Federica Di Naro, Diego De Benedetto, Diletta Cozzi, Silvia Pradella, Vittorio Miele, Jacopo Nori
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: breast; mammography; ultrasound; tomosynthesis; MRI; CEM
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/11/5509
• ISSN: 1661-7827; 1660-4601

Breast cancer (BC) is the cancer with the highest incidence in women in the world. In this last period, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused in many cases a drastic reduction of routine breast imaging activity due to the combination of various factors. The survival of BC is directly proportional to the earliness of diagnosis, and especially during this period, it is at least fundamental to remember that a diagnostic delay of even just three months could affect BC outcomes. In this article we will review the state of the art of breast imaging, starting from morphological imaging, i.e., mammography, tomosynthesis, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging and contrast-enhanced mammography, and their most recent evolutions; and ending with functional images, i.e., magnetic resonance imaging and contrast enhanced mammography.