Objective To explore the differential diagnostic value of ultrasound and ^99mTc-MIBI breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) in patients with early breast cancer.

Methods A total of 103 female patients (123 lesions) with breast masses found by self-examination or mammography (MMG) in Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University from January 2017 to March 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Ultrasound and BSGI examination results of all lesions (were collected 2 weeks before surgery. Postoperative pathology was used as the gold standard to compare the diagnostic value of the two examination methods for breast cancer.

Results The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of ultrasound and BSGI in the diagnosis of early breast cancer were 91.94% and 90.32%, 77.05% and 80.33%, 84.55% and 85.37%, 80.28% and 82.35%, 90.38% and 89.09%, respectively. The sensitivity and negative predictive value of ultrasound for early breast cancer were slightly higher than those of BSGI, but the difference were not statistically significant. The specificity of BSGI in the diagnosis of early breast cancer was slightly higher than that of ultrasound, but the difference was not statistically significant.

Conclusion Ultrasound and BSGI for early breast cancer all have a higher diagnostic efficiency. For patients with suspected breast cancer, ultrasonography screening of typical benign and malignant lesions can be used first, and BSGI examination can be performed for patients with uncertain diagnosis results, reduce unnecessary biopsies benign tumors, reasonable application of medical resources, reduce the pain and economic burden of patients.