Uncertainties involved in the estimation of mean glandular dose for women in the Norwegian breast cancer screening program (NBCSP)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to reflect on the estimation of the mean glandular dose for women in Norway aged 50–69 y. Estimation of mean glandular dose (MGD) has been conducted by applying the method of Dance et al. (1990, 2000, 2009). Uncertainties in the thickness of approximately ±10 mm adds uncertainties in the MGD of approximately ±10 %, and uncertainty in the glandularity of ±0 % will lead to an uncertainty in the MGD of ±4 %. However, the inherent uncertainty in the air kerma, given by the European protocol on dosimetry, will add an uncertainty of 12 %. The total uncertainty in the MGD is estimated to be ∼20 %, taking into consideration uncertainties in compressed breast thickness (±10 %), the air kerma (12 %), change in HVL by −0.05 mm (−9.0 %), uncertainty in the s-factor of ±2.1 % and changing the glandularity to an age-dependent glandularity distribution (+8.4 %).