Mammograms, with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) models, may reveal much more than cancer, according to a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.25). The findings highlight how these important cancer screening tools can also be used to assess the amount of calcium buildup in the arteries within breast tissue -- an indicator of cardiovascular health.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that middle-aged and older women get a mammogram -- an X-ray of the breast -- to screen for breast cancer every one or two years. About 40 million mammograms are performed in the United States each year. While breast artery calcifications can be seen on the resulting images, radiologists do not typically quantify or report this information to women or their clinicians. The new study, which used an AI image analysis technique not previously used on mammograms, demonstrates how AI can help fill this gap by automatically analyzing breast arterial calcification and translating the results into a cardiovascular risk score.
"We see an opportunity for women to get screened for cancer and also additionally get a cardiovascular screen from their mammograms," said Theo Dapamede, MD, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at Emory University in Atlanta and the study's lead author. "Our study showed that breast arterial calcification is a good predictor for cardiovascular disease, especially in patients younger than age 60. If we are able to screen and identify these patients early, we can refer them to a cardiologist for further risk assessment."
