Is breast ultrasound as effective as a mammogram?

No: There are 3 mainstream modalities of breast imaging - mammogram, ultrasound and breast mri. Each of these has its strengths and weaknesses. Mammogram is used as a screening tool for all women in the us because it gives the best overall picture. The ultrasound is most commonly used to help discern between a cyst and a solid lesion.

US vs mammo: It depends on what you mean by effective.The sensitivity of screening mammo and screening US is close, with US detecting 3-4 cancers per 1000 patients and mammo detecting 4-5.US performs better in the dense breast category, mammo performs better in fatty breasts. Their roles are complementary, and evolving. The current main role of US is to further evaluate abnormalities seen on mammo or exam

U/S: of breast is used for young women with dense breasts that are to dense for a mammogram to be effective or adjunct to a mammogram to determine if a mass is cystic or not.