1. A method for detecting a linear structure in a digital mammographic image, executed at least in part on a processor or computer, comprising: locating at least one microcalcification candidate cluster in the image data; extracting a first region of interest that encloses the at least one microcalcification candidate cluster; processing the first region of interest to identify feature points that correspond to geometric structures in the first region of interest; and applying a linear detection algorithm by a repeated process comprising: (i) selecting a line model from a predefined set of line models; (ii) analyzing the line model to determine whether a linear structure is present in the first region of interest.