Comparative Evaluation of Infrared Thermography and Mammography in the Detection of Breast Cancer.
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[OBJECTIVE] The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of infrared thermography for detecting breast carcinoma and to compare its performance with that of standard ma
- p-value p < 0.05
APA
S H, Das SK, et al. (2026). Comparative Evaluation of Infrared Thermography and Mammography in the Detection of Breast Cancer.. Cureus, 18(1), e101203. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.101203
MLA
S H, et al.. "Comparative Evaluation of Infrared Thermography and Mammography in the Detection of Breast Cancer.." Cureus, vol. 18, no. 1, 2026, pp. e101203.
PMID
41674768
Abstract
[OBJECTIVE] The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of infrared thermography for detecting breast carcinoma and to compare its performance with that of standard mammography. A secondary objective was to assess the potential role of thermography as a supplementary, non-invasive, radiation-free imaging modality, particularly in settings with limited access to conventional breast imaging.
[METHODOLOGY] A diagnostic comparison study was conducted over 18 months at JSS Hospitals, Mysuru, involving 30 female patients aged 20-60 years with breast tumors. All participants underwent infrared thermography, mammography, and histopathological analysis. Thermograms showing temperature variations of ≥3°C were considered malignant. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 28 (Released 2021; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York), and diagnostic accuracy was assessed based on sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV), with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.
[RESULTS] Of the 34 breast lesions evaluated, 24 (70.6%) were malignant and 10 (29.4%) were benign. On mammography, positive findings were observed in 23 (95.8%) malignant cases and one (10%) benign case. Infrared thermography demonstrated no thermal change in all benign and six (25%) malignant cases. Mammography detected 23 of 24 malignant lesions, yielding an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.967 (p < 0.05). Infrared thermography detected 18 of 24 malignant lesions, with an AUC of 0.875 (p < 0.001).
[CONCLUSION] Infrared thermography demonstrated high specificity and a strong PPV; however, its low sensitivity limits its standalone diagnostic utility in breast cancer detection. Nevertheless, owing to its cost-effectiveness, portability, and radiation-free properties, thermography may serve as a valuable supplementary tool, particularly in low-resource settings and among younger women with dense breast tissue.
[METHODOLOGY] A diagnostic comparison study was conducted over 18 months at JSS Hospitals, Mysuru, involving 30 female patients aged 20-60 years with breast tumors. All participants underwent infrared thermography, mammography, and histopathological analysis. Thermograms showing temperature variations of ≥3°C were considered malignant. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 28 (Released 2021; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York), and diagnostic accuracy was assessed based on sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV), with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.
[RESULTS] Of the 34 breast lesions evaluated, 24 (70.6%) were malignant and 10 (29.4%) were benign. On mammography, positive findings were observed in 23 (95.8%) malignant cases and one (10%) benign case. Infrared thermography demonstrated no thermal change in all benign and six (25%) malignant cases. Mammography detected 23 of 24 malignant lesions, yielding an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.967 (p < 0.05). Infrared thermography detected 18 of 24 malignant lesions, with an AUC of 0.875 (p < 0.001).
[CONCLUSION] Infrared thermography demonstrated high specificity and a strong PPV; however, its low sensitivity limits its standalone diagnostic utility in breast cancer detection. Nevertheless, owing to its cost-effectiveness, portability, and radiation-free properties, thermography may serve as a valuable supplementary tool, particularly in low-resource settings and among younger women with dense breast tissue.