Breast cancer constitutes about 25% of all cancers and is the leading cause of cancer death among females. In order to reduce breast cancer mortality

mammography screening programmes have been implemented in many countries. However

these programmes are still controversial

due to the radiation exposure and the unsatisfactory diagnostic accuracy related to mammography. X-ray phase contrast imaging technology is a new imaging method sensitive to refraction generated by X-ray transmitted through the object. Phase contrast imaging has been shown to have excellent soft tissue contrast and can significantly improve cancerous tissue visualization

especially for weak absorbing material. Therefore

breast X-ray phase contrast imaging may significantly promote the early diagnosis of breast cancer. Studies have shown that breast phase contrast CT can clearly show the fine structures of breast tissue

which can often only be observed by histological examination. This implies that the breast X-ray phase contrast imaging may lead the development trend of the new imaging applications. In this review

we briefly overview the phase contrast imaging on the physical theory and several information acquisition methods

and introduce the recent development of breast X-ray phase contrast imaging and its clinical application.