Authors (including presenting author) :
Hoon OHB (1), Lai YTA (1)
Affiliation :
(1) Department of Radiology, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital
Keyword 1: :
contrast enhanced mammography
Keyword 2: :
breast imaging
Keyword 3: :
neoadjuvant chemotherapy
Introduction :
Contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) has emerged as a practical alternative to breast MRI for evaluating tumor response in patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy. Combining diagnostic mammography with functional enhancement assessment, CEM offers faster acquisition, improved accessibility, and lower cost, while maintaining diagnostic performance approaching that of MRI.
Objectives :
This presentation shares our local center’s experience in implementing CEM for neoadjuvant patient assessment, highlighting its diagnostic role, workflow integration, and comparative performance with MRI.
Methodology :
Retrospective review was performed for patients who underwent CEM as part of their neoadjuvant therapy evaluation. Illustrative case examples demonstrate typical enhancement patterns and practical challenges encountered during image interpretation.
Result & Outcome :
CEM is particularly useful for cases in newly diagnosed invasive cancer for perioperative staging and assessing treatment response and residual disease, while providing comparable accuracy to MRI. Limitations include thin breast thickness, posterior lesions, and low conspicuity lesions. Workflow advantages and patient tolerability were significant benefits noted during CEM adoption. CEM is a feasible and effective alternative to MRI in assessing neoadjuvant response, offering an efficient balance between performance and practicality. Our center’s real-world experience supports its growing role in personalized breast imaging pathways, especially where MRI resources are limited.
