Earlier this month, we drew attention to the fact that October is traditionally recognised as breast cancer awareness month. It’s therefore appropriate at month’s end that we draw attention to the Global Breast Imaging Report just released by Signify Research. Compiled by senior market analysts Bhvita Jani and Graham Cooke, the report considers the evolution of breast imaging in both mature and emerging markets. The authors considered key trends impacting breast imaging markets, reviewed technology developments, including the impact of AI, highlighted mergers and acquisitions, and profiled 32 vendors, including CapeRay.

In an accompanying article, Jani reported on the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the breast imaging market, where revenues for vendors decreased by 15% last year. With breast cancer now accounting for 12% of all cancers worldwide, leading to almost 700,000 deaths in 2020, a major concern has been the number of women who have been unable to undergo a screening mammogram since March 2020. Inevitably, some of these women would have benefited from early diagnosis of breast cancer but, because of the delay, will now face an uncertain prognosis.

The figure at left (© Signify Research) provides a forecast for the breast imaging market, broken down by imaging modality, from 2020 until 2025, with significant revenue growth projected over the five-year period. Full-field digital mammography (FFDM) will grow steadily, sales of new digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) systems will increase substantially, while existing DBT systems will continue to be upgraded. Analogue mammography sales will be small and diminishing, while hand-held ultrasound (HHUS) will experience modest growth. Importantly, revenue from automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) systems will see a significant increase over the next five years.

In 2020, the world leader in revenue for mammography systems – both FFDM and DBT – was Hologic with a significant market share. GE Healthcare was a distant second, Siemens was third followed by Fujifilm. The Italian company IMS Giotto had a very small percentage share, while the balance was spread among a number of other companies.

Given the anticipated growth in ABUS systems, it is pertinent to consider the market share of the major manufacturers. The chart at right (© Signify Research) reveals that in 2020 the dominant vendor was GE Healthcare with its Invenia ABUS device, followed by Siemens, while SIUI, based in China, and iVu Imaging, based in Texas, each had a small share. It’s evident the Global Breast Imaging Report by Signify provides a valuable roadmap for the future, as companies seek to introduce novel products for the early detection of breast cancer.