Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jan 14, 2022; 10(2): 485-491
Published online Jan 14, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i2.485
Combined molybdenum target X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging examinations improve breast cancer diagnostic efficacy
Wen-Quan Gu, Sun-Mei Cai, Wei-Dong Liu, Qi Zhang, Ying Shi, Li-Juan Du
Wen-Quan Gu, Sun-Mei Cai, Wei-Dong Liu, Qi Zhang, Ying Shi, Li-Juan Du, Department of Radiology, Punan Hospital, Shanghai 200126, China
Author contributions: Gu WQ and Du LJ designed the research study; Cai SM and Zhang Q performed the research; Yang CH contributed new reagents and analytic tools; Gu WQ and Cai SM analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; all authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Supported by Clinical Plateau Department, Shanghai Pudong New Area Health Construction Commission, No. PWYgy2018-04.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Punan Hospital Institutional Review Board.
Informed consent statement: All study participants provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Li-Juan Du, MHSc, Attending Doctor, Department of Radiology, Punan Hospital, No. 279 Linyi Road, Shanghai 200126, China. haomiao2010@126.com
Received: September 9, 2021
Peer-review started: September 9, 2021
First decision: October 18, 2021
Revised: October 19, 2021
Accepted: December 3, 2021
Article in press: December 3, 2021
Published online: January 14, 2022
Processing time: 125 Days and 1.6 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Early-stage breast cancer patients often lack specific clinical manifestations, making diagnosis difficult. Molybdenum target X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations both have their own advantages. Thus, a combined examination methodology may improve early breast cancer diagnoses.

AIM

To explore the combined diagnostic efficacy of molybdenum target X-ray and MRI examinations in breast cancer.

METHODS

Patients diagnosed with breast cancer at our hospital from March 2019 to April 2021 were recruited, as were the same number of patients during the same period with benign breast tumors. Both groups underwent molybdenum target X-ray and MRI examinations, and diagnoses were given based on each exam. The single (i.e., X-ray or MRI) and combined (i.e., using both methods) diagnoses were counted, and the MRI-related examination parameters (e.g., T-wave peak, peak and early enhancement rates, and apparent diffusion coefficient) were compared between the groups.

RESULTS

In total, 63 breast cancer patients and 63 benign breast tumor patients were recruited. MRI detected 53 breast cancer cases and 61 benign breast tumor cases. Molybdenum target X-ray detected 50 breast cancer cases and 60 benign breast tumor cases. The combined methodology detected 61 breast cancer cases and 61 benign breast tumor cases. The sensitivity (96.83%) and accuracy (96.83%) of the combined methodology were higher than single-method MRI (84.13% and 90.48%, respectively) and molybdenum target X-ray (79.37% and 87.30%, respectively) (P < 0.05). The combined methodology specificity (96.83%) did not differ from single-method MRI (96.83%) or molybdenum target X-ray (95.24%) (P > 0.05). The T-wave peak (169.43 ± 32.05) and apparent diffusion coefficient (1.01 ± 0.23) were lower in the breast cancer group than in the benign tumor group (228.86 ± 46.51 and 1.41 ± 0.35, respectively). However, the peak enhancement rate (1.08 ± 0.24) and early enhancement rate (1.07 ± 0.26) were significantly higher in the breast cancer group than in the benign tumor group (0.83 ± 0.19 and 0.75 ± 0.19, respectively) (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Combined molybdenum target X-ray and MRI examinations for diagnosing breast cancer improved the diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy, minimizing the missed- and misdiagnoses risks and promoting timely treatment intervention.

Keywords: Molybdenum; X-rays; Magnetic resonance imaging; Breast neoplasms; Early diagnosis; Radiology

Core Tip: Early-stage breast cancer patients often lack specific clinical manifestations, making diagnosis difficult. Molybdenum target X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging examinations both have advantages. Thus, a combined examination methodology may improve early breast cancer diagnoses. This study explored the combined diagnostic efficacy of molybdenum target X-ray examinations and magnetic resonance imaging for breast cancer. The combined methodology improved the diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy, minimizing the missed- and misdiagnoses risk and promoting timely treatment intervention.