Course Description
Breast-conservation surgery (BCS) is a standard of treatment for patients with early stage breast cancer, yielding long-term survival rates that compare favorably with mastectomy. Successful performance of the procedure demands a precise evaluation of lesion size, disease extent, and possible involvement of adjacent tissue. Conventional imaging is an essential part of initial screening, and assessment for BCS and is also critical during the procedure to confirm a negative surgical margin. Standard imaging techniques, which include radiography, magnetic resonance imaging, and sonography, have a number of practical limitations, producing high rates of positive margins. Presurgical imaging using computed tomography (CT), abdominal sonography, and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), to breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission mammography (PEM), breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI), cone-beam CT (CBCT), and contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) may also be performed to stage the patient’s cancer and determine the extent of disease. In both the pre- and intraoperative settings, new modalities are under investigation to improve the staging and extent of disease, which include and through the delivery of full volumetric pictures, more accurate margin detection. Postoperative imaging surveillance also is necessary to distinguish benign findings from those that are suggestive of recurrent disease. Newer 3-dimensional imaging techniques offer the potential of improving the characterization of typical imaging findings, thereby avoiding unnecessary workups and stress for patients.

Learning Objectives
After reading this article, the participant should be able to:

• EXPLAIN the role of breast conservation surgery in the treatment of early stage breast cancer.
• COMPARE the advantages and disadvantages of the different imaging modalities used in preoperative assessment, intraoperative margin detection, and postoperative follow-up.
• DISTINGUISH the imaging findings that may be safely ignored from those requiring further evaluation or surveillance.

In order to receive CE credit, you must first complete the activity content. When completed, go to the "Take CE Test!" link to access the post-test.

Submit the completed answers to determine if you have passed the post-test assessment. You must answer 8 out of 10 questions correctly to receive the CE credit. You will have no more than 3 attempts to successfully complete the post-test.

Participants successfully completing the activity content and passing the post-test will receive 1.0 ARRT Category A credit.

Approved by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists for ARRT Category A credit.

Approved by the state of Florida for ARRT Category A credit.

Texas direct credit.

This activity may be available in multiple formats or from different sponsors. ARRT does not allow CE activities such as Internet courses, home study programs, or directed readings to be repeated for CE credit in the same biennium.