Comparison of High and Medium Iodine Concentrations of Contrast Materials for Preoperative CT Studies in Breast Cancer Patients

We compared the contrast effect of high and medium iodine-concentration contrast materials for preoperative CT eva- luation of breast cancer patients. Female breast cancer patients who underwent enhanced CT of the chest and upper abdomen before surgery were analyzed retrospectively. High (370 mg I/mL, 100 mL) or medium (300 mg I/mL, 125 mL) concentrations of contrast material were injected for 60 sec, followed by saline flush, and postcontrast CT images were obtained 90 sec after contrast injection. CT values were assessed for the breast tumor, normal breast parenchyma, liver, aorta, and muscle. For the high and medium concentration agents, 45 and 49 patients were analyzed, respectively. No significant differences between the two contrast agents were found in terms of CT values of the breast tumor, normal breast parenchyma, liver, aorta, or muscle. The tumor-background differences in CT values did not differ significantly between the two agents. A comparable contrast effect was indicated in single-phase CT of breast cancer patients between high and medium iodine-concentration contrast material when the total iodine dose and injection duration were identical.