Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS) for Dense Breasts

What Are Dense Breasts?

Breast tissue consists of two types: fatty and fibroglandular. If more than 50% of your breast is made of fibroglandular tissue, then your breasts are classified as dense. Dense breast tissue is not an abnormal condition. More than 40% of women in the United States have dense breast tissue.

Women often convert from dense to intermediate to low density during the course of their lifetime, but changes occur at different times for each woman. Density can change with pregnancy, lactation, menstrual cycle, weight loss/gain, hormone use, surgery, radiation therapy and age.

Breast density cannot be determined by touch or visual exam – it can only be determined by evaluating a mammogram.

Why It Matters

Dense breast tissue can make a mammogram harder to read. On an X-ray mammogram, fatty breast tissue appears gray, while both dense breast tissue and cancers show up as white. That means a cancer can easily hide in a background of dense breast tissue since they both appear white.

Additionally, women with dense breast tissue have a 4-6 times higher risk of developing breast cancer than women with less fibroglandular tissue in their breasts.

If you are diagnosed with dense breasts, you should still have an annual screening mammogram. Although the mammogram of a dense breast may not show lumps as clearly as those with less dense breast tissue, mammography remains our best screening technique in all women and is recommended annually for all women over age 40 by the American College of Radiology. Additionally, there are some conditions that are only well seen with mammograghy including breast microcalcifications, which can be a very early sign of breast cancer.  

Screening with ABUS is a supplement to an annual screening mammogram for women with dense breasts.

What Is ABUS?

Ultrasound is widely used by medical professionals as a non-invasive imaging technology. It uses sound waves to examine structures inside the body.

ABUS provides a complete ultrasound evaluation of the entire breast. Combined with your screening mammogram, it improves the overall sensitivity by 26.7% and increases the overall breast cancer detection rate for women with dense breasts.

The NMMC Breast Care Center now offers ABUS screening.

What's Involved

The patient reclines on her back. A layer of ultrasound gel is applied to the breast, and the scanner is firmly positioned on the breast to acquire the images. The exam takes about 15 minutes for a single breast or about 30 minutes for both breasts.

Insurance Coverage

ABUS is covered by most insurance if you meet the screening criteria.

• Subject to copays and deductibles
• Check with your insurance provider to avoid unexpected fees
• Out-of-pocket/Opt-Out cash price available for self-pay and high deductible plan patients

Learn more in this video from GE Healthcare, manufacturer of the ABUS machines used at the NMMC Breast Care Center.