Study Challenges Routine Use Of MRI Scans To Evaluate Breast Cancer

Reviewing the records of 577 breast cancer patients, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers found that women with newly diagnosed breast cancer who receive a breast MRI are more likely to receive a mastectomy after their diagnosis and may face delays in starting treatment. The study demonstrates that, despite the lack of evidence of their benefit, routine use of MRI scans in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer increased significantly between 2004 and 2005, and again in 2006.

The study is online now and will be appearing in the August edition of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

source: Medical News Today

SOMO·INSIGHT Clinical Study Detects First Cancer in Mammographically Negative Breast Screening Patient at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center

SAN JOSE, Calif. & PEORIA, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U-Systems, the leader in dedicated breast ultrasound systems, together with Medical Director Jessica A. Guingrich, MD of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Susan G. Komen Breast Center and Centers for Breast Health announced that they have initiated the SOMO·INSIGHT Clinical Study. The first participants have been enrolled and the first pathologically confirmed cancer has been detected in a mammographically-negative screening patient. The clinical study is examining whether Digital Mammography along with the somo•v™ Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS) is more sensitive to detecting breast lesions when compared to Mammography alone in women with dense breasts.

The initiation of this nationwide study, which intends to recruit over 20,000 women, is an important milestone for U-Systems in evaluating new approaches to improved cancer detection. Screening mammography can be limited in women with dense breasts and these women have a higher risk of breast cancer. ABUS uses ultrasound (sound waves) at a safe frequency to create images of the internal breast tissue, unlike mammography, which uses radiation. Ultrasound has been shown to find cancer not visible with mammography in women who have dense breasts. A new approach to improving breast cancer detection is critical for women with dense breasts who undergo mammography. It is for this reason that U-Systems developed the somo•v and is sponsoring the SOMO·INSIGHT clinical study.

source: Business Wire

FDA Clears Hologic R2™ DIGITALNOW™ HD Software Application

Software processes digitized prior film mammograms to produce DICOM images that more closely resemble digital mammograms

BEDFORD, Mass. (June 12, 2009) - Hologic, Inc. (Hologic or the Company) (NASDAQ: HOLX), a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostics, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women, today announced that it has received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for its R2™ DigitalNow™ HD software application.

The R2 DigitalNow HD software is the only FDA-cleared application intended to process digitized screen-film mammograms for comparison purposes. The product is now available worldwide.

By collaborating with radiologists to understand the demands of reading digital mammograms, Hologic created the R2 DigitalNow HD software, which adapts each digitized film image to a selected contrast and tissue intensity that models a digital mammography system. It also embeds a series of look-up tables in the image that allow Integrated Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) mammography conformant workstations to draw out less evident regions of density within digitized films1 .

source: Hologic

Prototype Breast Cancer Imaging System May Improve Patient Care

ScienceDaily (June 15, 2009) — A prototype breast imaging system combining positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies could greatly improve breast cancer imaging capabilities, according to researchers at SNM's 56th Annual Meeting. Although the system has not yet been tested on humans, initial results from the prototype indicate the system produces a fusion of detailed PET and MRI images that should allow a more accurate classification of lesions in the breast.

"PET and MRI systems are both powerful, noninvasive tools for detecting breast cancer and evaluating treatment, but each of them also has weaknesses," said Bosky Ravindranath, research assistant working with Dr. David Schlyer at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, N.Y., and lead author of a study on preliminary testing of the prototype. "We believe that combining PET and MRI in a single system will eventually yield highly sensitive and specific breast cancer examinations while at the same time compensating for the shortcomings that exist when using only PET or only MRI."

source: Science Daily (press release)

Breast MRI shows it’s not the size of the lymph node that signals spread of cancer

Physicians treating breast cancer first look to lymph nodes in a patient’s armpit to see whether cancer is spreading elsewhere in the body — but they may not be evaluating the nodes in the most effective way.

Initial research suggested that enlargement and abnormalities of axillary sentinel lymph nodes – located in the armpit area near the breast – were predictive of cancer. But a University of Florida Shands Cancer Center researcher says it’s not the size of the node or enhancement, but the loss of a key part of a normal node’s structure called the fatty hilum that more accurately signals the spread of disease. The findings are available online in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

In addition to changing ideas about what doctors should look for while evaluating lymph nodes, the finding reinforces the value of using MRI to determine the extent of breast cancer prior to surgery.

source: University of Florida College of Medicine

Siemens Mammomat Inspiration Wins Design Awards

Mammomat Inspiration, the digital mammography platform designed by Siemens and designaffairs, has received the iF Product Design Award 2009 and the red dot award: product design 2009. The device for the early detection of breast cancer shows that ease of use, high functionality, and unique design come together beautifully in a single medical engineering product.

Siemens Healthcare and designaffairs jointly designed the Mammomat Inspiration, the first mammography system to incorporate the MoodLight function. MoodLight is an LED glass panel that can be illuminated with freely selectable colors, producing a comfortable, relaxing effect on the patient.

Since 1953, the iF Industrie Forum Design e.V. has presented the internationally recognized iF awards annually. The awards celebrate products that excel with a unique combination of functionality, user friendliness, and esthetics, and meet all the criteria of an innovation. Mammomat Inspiration from Siemens won one of the iF Design prizes in the Medicine / Health+Care category. A total of 802 awards were presented among the 2,808 applicants from 39 countries.

source: Siemens Healthcare

External Beam Partial Breast Irradiation Most Cost-effective Treatment

External beam partial breast irradiation (EB-PBI) is the most cost-effective method for treating postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer based on utilities, recurrence risks and costs when compared to whole breast radiotherapy (WBRT) and brachytherapy partial breast irradiation (brachy-PBI), according to a study in the June 1 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

PBI is a newer form of radiation therapy for breast cancer where only part of the breast is treated twice a day for four to five days. Radiation oncologists have been studying different methods to deliver the radiation to the tumor. EB-PBI uses high-energy external X-rays to deliver radiation to the breast after a lumpectomy and brachy-PBI delivers radiation through either implanted needles or a small sphere placed into the post-lumpectomy cavity in the breast.

source= ASTRO