Many women dread undergoing mammography because it can be awkward and painful when their breast are squashed by a technician into a machine that flattens them for images.

This apprehension experienced by women has been reported as a common factor in nonattendance or non-reattendance of screening which is recommended every two years between 50 to 74 years. With self-compression, the patient is given control of the compression of her own breasts during the mammogram which can make for a less painful experience.

“Despite its utility, many women dread undergoing mammography because this examination can be uncomfortable or painful,” wrote Dr. Philippe Henrot.

The randomized clinical trial conducted by Philippe Henrot, MD, Department of radiology at the Institut de Cancérologie de Lorraine Alexis Vautrin in France, and colleagues, included 548 women in France, 275 in the self-compression group, and 273 in the traditional compression group.

The authors found that self-compression does not appear to be inferior to standard compression in achieving minimal breast thickness and compression force was higher in the self-compression group. In addition, the self-compression group reported less pain, and there was no difference in image quality.

The research did not evaluate the radiation levels used nor the amount of extra time the mammography took with self-compression.

SOURCE
Self-compression Technique vs Standard Compression in Mammography – A Randomized Clinical Trial
Researchers study the effectiveness of self-compression during mammography
L’European Journal of Cancer