Breast cancer continues to be a significant public health problem.
In the United States, one out of eight women will develop breast cancer at some point during her lifetime. Primary prevention seems impossible since the causes of this disease still remain unknown. Early detection is the key to improving breast cancer prognosis because it is easier and less expensive to treat tumors in the early stage of their development. Microcalcifications and masses are the two most important indicators of malignancy on mammograms, and their automated detection is very important for early breast cancer detection. Since masses are often indistinguishable from the surrounding parenchymal tissues, automated diagnosis of masses is more challenging.