6.19.2012

Digital Breast Tomosynthesis Cuts Recall Rates by 40 Percent

Adding digital breast tomosynthesis to 2D mammography screening results in a 40% reduction in patient recall rates compared to routine screening mammography alone, a new study shows.


The study, conducted at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT, of 7,578 screening mammograms, found that the recall rate was 6.6% for digital breast tomosynthesis plus 2D screening mammography. It was 11.1% for 2D screening mammography alone, said Melissa Durand, MD, one of the authors of the study.


Similar recall rates were seen in both groups for masses, but the recall rate was significantly lower with digital breast tomosynthesis and 2D mammography compared to 2D mammography alone for asymmetries and calcifications, said Dr. Durand. The recall rate was 2.8% for asymmetries when both techniques were used compared to 7.1% for routine screening mammography, she said. “Tomosynthesis, which is 3D mammography, allows us to look at the breast in 1 mm slices. In routine mammography, breast tissue is compressed and overlying tissue can look like a suspicious finding. Tomosynthesis resolves this by looking slice by slice,” said Liane Philpotts, MD, a study author.


The radiation dose for the combined examination is below the Food and Drug Administration limit for mammography and below the dose of film mammography, noted Dr. Durand.


source: American Roentgen Ray Society

5.28.2012

Preop MRI Valuable in Detecting Additional Malignancies in Dense & Not Dense Breasts

Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients should undergo a preoperative MRI exam even if their breasts are not dense, a new study indicates. The study found no difference between the usefulness of 3T breast MRI in detecting additional malignancies and high risk lesions in dense versus non-dense breasts. Related

"There are currently no guidelines that define the role of breast density in determining if a preoperative MRI should be performed. However, anecdotally, we know that preoperative MRI exams tend to be ordered more frequently in younger patients and/or patients with dense breast tissue," said Reena Vashi, MD, one of the authors of the study.

The study of 127 patients, conducted at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT, found that 3T MRI detected additional malignancies in 26% of patients who had breasts that were not considered dense and in 25% of patients with dense breasts, said Dr. Vashi. There was no difference in the patients with dense breasts compared to those without dense breasts in regard "to the size of lesions detected, or the distribution of the lesions," Dr. Vashi said. In both populations, a significant and statistically similar percentage of patients had unsuspected additional cancers in the opposite breast or in a separate quadrant from the known cancer in the same breast, necessitating a change in surgical management.

source: ARRS

2.28.2012

Molecular Breast Imaging Is Superior to Ultrasound and Mammography for the Detection of Breast Cancer

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., Feb. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Dilon Diagnostics -- According to a new study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR) in January 2012, Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI), also known as Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI), can detect cancers missed by the two most common breast imaging studies, mammography and ultrasound. BSGI had the highest overall sensitivity (91%) for breast cancer detection, significantly higher than that of mammography and ultrasound, 74% and 84% respectively. In addition, BSGI was more effective than ultrasound in contributing to patient management when the results of these studies changed the diagnosis provided by mammography.

In this multi-center study of 1042 patients at four institutions, BSGI had an outstanding overall sensitivity of 91% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 96%. The BSGI procedures were conducted with a high-resolution gamma camera, the Dilon 6800®. For patients who had adjunctive imaging procedures with results discordant from those for mammography, BSGI provided higher diagnostic accuracy than ultrasound (77% vs 35%). The group of patients with indeterminate mammograms (BI-RADS 0) received the greatest benefit from use of BSGI. For the BI-RADS 0 patients, BSGI was significantly more likely to contribute to patient management than ultrasound, it was less likely to be negative in cancerous lesions and was less likely to be positive in benign lesions. Interestingly 85% of the patients included in this study had dense breast tissue.

source: MarketWatch

2.11.2012

Capital Health Will be First in U.S. to Offer GE Molecular Breast Imaging

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, N.J. & WAUKESHA, Wis., Jan 30, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Capital Health and GE Healthcare announced today the first Discovery* NM 750b was installed at Capital Health's New Jersey Hopewell medical center. Capital Health is a central New Jersey region leader in advanced medicine, with significant investments in advanced technologies and its medical staff.

"We are very pleased to offer women in our community this new, highly sophisticated, test that can help detect breast cancer at its earliest stages, which, as we all know, can be critical to the success of treatment," said Al Maghazehe, president and CEO of Capital Health. "We remain committed to bringing patients in this region the latest technological advances to enhance their healthcare options."

"This innovative technology overcomes some of the challenges we currently face with breast cancer detection, particularly in women with dense breast tissue, and allows us to offer our patients improved medical care," said Dr. Yaakov Applbaum, medical director of the Radiology Department at Capital Health. "It will also be useful in the early detection of breast cancer in women who are at a high risk for the disease."

source: Mrket Watch

1.25.2012

First Naviscan PET Scanners Installed in Europe

Positron Emission Mammography Now Available to Women in Germany and Turkey

SAN DIEGO, CA, Jan 25, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Naviscan PET scanners performing Positron Emission Mammography (PEM) have been installed in two prestigious European centers: Radiologie und Nuklearmedizin in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Medica in Istanbul, Turkey. Capitalizing on Naviscan's distribution in 13 European countries, these mark the first installations of a backlog of orders in the European market.

"The high resolution imaging of PEM at 1.6 mm enables us to detect breast cancer, and has even shown us unexpected areas of breast cancer multifocality in both breasts as well as axillary lymph node metastasis which were otherwise undetectable on the mammogram," said Dr. Frank H.H. Mueller, Radiologist, Nuclear Medicine physician and Chairman of PET e.V Germany, a registered voluntary organization of PET users in Germany. "The possibility of biopsy immediately after the initial PEM examination is revolutionary and will provide answers to all referring physician questions."

PEM imaging shows the location as well as the metabolic phase of a lesion. This information is critical in determining whether a lesion is malignant and influences the course of treatment by providing an ability to distinguish between benign and malignant lesions, what researchers term "specificity." Recent studies have demonstrated that PEM has similar sensitivity and higher specificity than breast MRI. The scanner is the only FDA-cleared, CE-certified 3D Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) device on the market with biopsy-guidance.

source: Market Wire

1.14.2012

Intrinsic Imaging Awarded Important Clinical Trial for the Evaluation of Breast Cancer

Intrinsic Imaging, an ISO 9001:2008 certified medical imaging core lab providing clinical image management and radiological review services in support of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and clinical research organizations, announces today that it was recently awarded an important clinical trial for the evaluation of breast cancer.

Over the duration of this clinical trial, Intrinsic Imaging will provide its wealth of breast imaging and clinical trial expertise, as well as provide its team of over 60 subspecialized radiologists, to evaluate the product's clinical safety and effectiveness. This trial, which will be managed from Intrinsic Imaging's Boston and San Antonio locations, consists of nearly 3,000 reviews.

"Intrinsic Imaging's board-certified, breast imaging radiologists currently manage over 150,000 breast related images annually and are responsible for the full complement of imaging and intervention as it relates to the evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis and progression of breast disease," said Richard Benedikt, M.D., MBA, Medical Director, Breast Imaging at Intrinsic Imaging.

source: Intrinsic Imaging