{
  "abstract": "Objectives: To evaluate patient acceptance, tolerability and experience with contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) in women with a personal history of breast cancer undergoing routine post-surgical surveillance.\n\nMaterials and methods: This prospective cohort study, conducted within the COMBO Trial, included consecutive women with a personal history of breast cancer undergoing CEM instead of digital mammography (DM) for routine surveillance from January 2023 to February 2025. Immediately after the examination, participants completed an anonymous 16-question questionnaire assessing discomfort, pain, exam duration, pre-examination reassurance, information received, anxiety, contrast injection, satisfaction and comparative experience with prior DM. Responses used Likert-type scales. Descriptive and non-parametric analyses were performed ( p < 0.05 statistically significant).\n\nResults: Of 969 eligible women, 936 (mean age 58.2 years, SD ± 10.2 years) completed the questionnaire. CEM was perceived as comparable to prior DM in terms of discomfort (631/936; 67.4%), pain (725/936; 77.4%), positioning (717/936; 76.6%) and duration (601/936; 64.3%). Overall satisfaction was high (900/936; 96.2%), and 932/936 (99.6%) of participants would recommend CEM. Although 433/936 (46.3%) of women reported moderate-to-high pre-examination anxiety, higher anxiety was significantly associated with greater perceived discomfort, pain, uncomfortable positioning, longer examination duration, lower reassurance, lower comfort during contrast medium administration, and lower overall satisfaction (all p < 0.001).\n\nConclusions: In this large cohort of breast cancer survivors, CEM demonstrated high acceptance, satisfaction and tolerability in post-surgical follow-up. Although pre-examination anxiety negatively influenced examination experience, it did not reduce patients’ willingness to undergo CEM, supporting its integration into personalised post-treatment breast cancer surveillance.\n\nKey Points: Question Evidence on patient acceptance and tolerability of CEM for routine post-surgical surveillance in women with previous breast cancer is limited.\n\nFindings In 936 breast cancer survivors, CEM showed high satisfaction and tolerability, while pre-examination anxiety was associated with a less favourable experience.\n\nCritical Relevance Statement High patient acceptance supports CEM as a feasible surveillance option after breast cancer treatment, while the association between anxiety and poorer experience highlights the radiologist’s role in pre-examination communication and reassurance.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Giulia Vatteroni",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2568-2768"
    },
    {
      "name": "Riccardo Levi"
    },
    {
      "name": "Marco Filippini"
    },
    {
      "name": "Martina Costa"
    },
    {
      "name": "Rubina Manuela Trimboli"
    },
    {
      "name": "Daniela Bernardi"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bmshsjxdaxpf5.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1186/s13244-026-02434-x",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13675458/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "bmshsjxdaxpf5",
  "issns": [
    "1869-4101"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13675458",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2740|Digital Radiography and Breast Imaging"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222435859",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13675458/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13675458",
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-16",
  "publisher": "Springer Science and Business Media LLC",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bmshsjxdaxpf5.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:25Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13675458",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13675458"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:33Z",
      "native_id": "10.1186/s13244-026-02434-x",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13244-026-02434-x"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "issn:1869-4101",
      "subfield": "imaging"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Patient acceptance and experience with contrast-enhanced mammography in women with a personal history of breast cancer: findings from the COMBO trial",
  "title_text": "Patient acceptance and experience with contrast-enhanced mammography in women with a personal history of breast cancer: findings from the COMBO trial",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:33Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bmshsjxdaxpf5",
  "venue": "Insights into imaging",
  "versions": []
}