AccScience Publishing / EJMO / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/EJMO026250294
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REVIEW ARTICLE

Artificial intelligence in contrast-enhanced mammography: Current evidence, clinical integration, and future perspectives – a narrative review

Graziella Di Grezia1* Teresa Iannaccone2 Antonio Nazzaro2 Leandra Piscopo3 Salvatore Antonio Masala3 Mariano Scaglione3,4
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1 Department of Life Sciences, Health, and Healthcare Professions, Link Campus University Rome, Rome , Italy
2 Independent Researcher, Avellino , Italy
3 Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Sassari , Italy
4 Department of Radiology, James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough TS43BM , United Kingdom
Received: 20 June 2026 | Revised: 26 July 2026 | Accepted: 27 August 2026 | Published online: 9 September 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Deep Learning in Medical Image Analysis)
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
Abstract

Introduction: Contrast enhanced mammography (CEM) combines standard mammographic imaging with functional enhancement patterns and is increasingly used in diagnostic and staging pathways. Artificial intelligence (AI) has shown strong potential in breast imaging, yet its application to CEM remains limited.

Objectives: This narrative expert review summarizes current evidence on AI applied to CEM, identifies methodological gaps, and outlines future directions for clinically integrated, precision-oriented models.

Methods: A narrative review of peer‑reviewed studies was conducted, focusing on AI for lesion detection, classification, segmentation, radiomics, workflow support, and emerging multidimensional frameworks involving CEM. Given the heterogeneity of available studies and the early developmental stage of the field, a narrative expert review was considered more appropriate than a protocol‑driven systematic approach.

Results: Existing studies demonstrate that AI can improve lesion conspicuity, support automated detection, and extract quantitative features from CEM. Reported performance metrics—such as area‑under‑the‑curve (AUC) values between 0.87 and 0.93 in small datasets—indicate promising diagnostic potential. However, progress is limited by small sample sizes, heterogeneous acquisition protocols, variability in background parenchymal enhancement, lack of external validation, and the absence of models incorporating clinical, hormonal, or multimodal information essential for real‑world interpretation. Emerging frameworks suggest that AI may also support multidimensional risk profiling by integrating imaging features with patient‑specific variables.

Conclusions: AI has the potential to enhance the diagnostic and clinical value of CEM, but meaningful implementation will require standardized acquisition, larger multicenter datasets, explainable architectures, and integration of clinical context. Future models should reflect real-world senological workflows and support personalized, risk‑stratified decision‑making.

Keywords
Contrast enhanced mammographyk
Artificial intelligence
Deep learning
radiomics
Breast imaging
Lesion detection
Multimodal imaging
Clinical integration
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
Graziella Di Grezia is an Editorial Board Member of this journal, but was not in any way involved in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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Eurasian Journal of Medicine and Oncology, Electronic ISSN: 2587-196X Print ISSN: 2587-2400, Published by AccScience Publishing