Dosimetric evaluation of the mean glandular dose for mammography in Korean women: A preliminary report

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the thickness of the compressed breast in mediolateral oblique (MLO) and craniocaudal (CC) mammograms, to relate these thickness and breast patterns to mean glandular dose (MGD) in Korean women, and to evaluate the suitability of using the American College of Radiology's Recommendations for Korean women from a quality assurance standpoint. The study population consisted of 92 paired MLO and CC mammograms obtained on one mammographic unit. The digital readouts of compressed breast thickness, applied compression force and tube voltage were recorded. Entrance skin exposure was measured by dosimetry. MGD was calculated by multiplying entrance skin exposure by the exposure-to-absorbed dose conversion factor. The range of breast thickness was 1.3 - 6.2 cm in CC mammograms with a mean breast thickness of 3.6 cm, and 1.6 - 6.5 cm in MLO mammograms with a mean breast thickness of 3.9 cm. MGDs in CC and MLO mammograms were 1.77 mSv and 1.88 mSv per view, respectively. Breast composition patterns were divided into 4 groups according to ACR BI-RADS; P1 (n=20), P2 (n=16), P3 (n=48) and P4 (n=8). The MGDs for these groups were: 1.82, 1.84, 1.84, and 1.91 mSv, respectively. When subjects were subdivided by breast thickness into three groups, namely, below 3 cm, 3 cm to 4.2 cm, aaa and above 4.2 cm, the corresponding MGDs were 1.83, 1.86, and 1.91 mSv. According to our initial trial, the mean breast thickness and the MGDs of Korean women are lower than recommended by the American College of Radiology, which are commonly used for quality assurance purposes.