Course Description
Breast cancer (BC) is a significant healthcare issue, and screening for breast cancer remains one of the most controversial. Mammography screening is still the best approach to reduce the burden of premature death. Balancing the benefits and limitations, as well as the potential harms of mammography and other imaging modalities, along with assessing the patient's risk profile for BC and their preferences, provides the best approach to optimize screening strategies for individual women. This course will examine current screening recommendations and discuss reasons for their differences, how screening tests are assessed, the benefits and limitations of mammography, as well as the impact of combining other imaging modalities with mammography to enhance its predictive value. Other technologies and their potential impact on BC screening will also be discussed.

Over the past decade, women of color and those with lower income or education levels were less likely to receive appropriate BC screening compared with white women and the more educated and affluent. This course will explore how this gap has narrowed over time. Finally, the important role of radiologic technologists and mammographers and what they provide regarding BC screening will also be addressed, as well as how screening requires a personalized approach that integrates patient-specific and age-dependent metrics of cancer risk with selective application of specific screening technologies best suited to the patient's age, risk, and breast density.

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, the participant should be able to:

• DEFINE the performance measures for assessing the validity of a breast cancer screening test.
• OUTLINE the differences in breast cancer screening recommendations.
• IDENTIFY patient parameters that impact the choice of a breast cancer screening with mammography, sonography, and magnetic resonance imaging.
• IDENTIFY risk factors that impact the need for personalized screening.
• EXPLAIN how breast density impacts various breast screening technologies.
• EXPLAIN when and why different breast screening imaging technologies should be used.
• LIST options for optimizing breast cancer screening with mammography.
• OUTLINE current approaches to addressing breast density on mammographic screening.
• IDENTIFY healthcare disparities in breast cancer screening.
• ANALYZE the potential impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination on mammograms.
• OUTLINE strategies for radiologic technologists and mammographers to improve breast cancer screening with mammography.

Categories: Mammography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Ultrasound/Sonography, Professional Development/Patient Care Quality

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 21 out of 28 questions correctly to receive 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 3.5 ARRT Category A credits.

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.