Department of Surgery

Brian Sprague, Ph.D., Green and Gold Professor in Surgical Research, professor of surgery, and professor of biochemistry

(JUNE 13, 2023) According to a study by Green and Gold Professor in Surgical Research Brian Sprague, Ph.D., professor of surgery and biochemistry, and colleagues, many women at high risk of screening mammography failure do not undergo supplemental screening after mammography, HealthDay News reported.

“Among women with dense breasts, there was very little targeting of ultrasound screening to women who were at the highest risk of a mammography screening failure,” Sprague said in a statement. “In other words, many women at low risk of breast cancer despite having dense breasts underwent ultrasound screening, while many other women at high risk of breast cancer underwent mammography alone with no supplemental screening.”

The study, which investigated the advantages and disadvantages of additional supplemental ultrasound screenings in women with dense breast tissue — a risk factor for breast cancer — was published by Wiley online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.