New Screening Technique Better for Detecting Breast Cancer

Traditional breast cancer screening consists of monthly self-exams, yearly professional exams, and, for older or high-risk women, mammograms. With recent advances in breast cancer screening and treatment, women have a better chance of surviving the disease than ever before. Scientists and doctors are trying to increase that chance even further, and recently unveiled a new screening technique that may go on to save thousands of lives.

Molecular breast imaging (MBI) is a new technology which was presented this week at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's 2008 Breast Cancer Symposium in Washington, D.C. Unlike mammograms, MBI images the breast using a an injected radiotracter that is able to detect different behaviors between cancerous and healthy cells. In a study presented at the symposium, MBI detected 10 out of 13 cancers among 375 patients. Mammograms detected three. Together, the techniques would have detected 11.

In addition to detecting more cancers, MBI produces fewer false positives than mammograms; 28% of MBI-prompted biopsies proved to be cancerous, compared with only 28% of mammogram prompted biopsies. "Based on the results, MBI has shown great promise as a valuable adjunct to screening mammography in women with dense breasts and who are at an increased risk of developing cancer," said study author Carrie B. Hruska, a research fellow in the department of radiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

MBI technology is relatively inexpensive and easy to use. The future of the treatment depends upon it's spread across the country, as the screening is not yet widely available.

To read more, visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/03/AR2008090303193.html