An Individualized Approach to Breast Cancer Treatment

Not all breast cancers are the same, and not all will have fatal consequences. But because clinicians find it difficult to accurately determine which tumors will metastasize, many patients do not receive the therapy fits their disease.

Tel Aviv University has now refined breast cancer identification so that each course of treatment is as individual as the woman being treated.

The new approach -- based on a combination of MRI and ultrasound -- is able to measure the metabolism rates of cancer cells. The approach helps determine at an earlier stage than ever before which cells are metastasizing, and how they should be treated.

The method, expected to start clinical trials in 2010, is currently being researched in Israel hospitals.

source: Tel Aviv University

Cutting-edge cancer technology comes to Ontario

CTV.ca News Staff

A major worldwide healthcare technology developer has chosen to test out some cutting-edge breast cancer detection technology on patients receiving care at an Ontario hospital.

It was announced Friday morning that GE Healthcare will test various molecular breast imaging probe prototypes at Henderson General Hospital in Hamilton, about 70 kilometres outside of Toronto.

The technology the company will be testing seeks to detect small tumours in women's breasts that are not found as easily through conventional mammography. The goal is to locate such tumours in their very earliest stages, so that treatment can be administered to patients as early as possible.

source: CTV.ca

Siemens, U-Systems Announce Licensing Agreement on Automated Breast Ultrasound Workstation

Mountain View, Calif., January 16, 2009 – Siemens Healthcare and U-Systems, Inc., today announced a technology licensing agreement for U-Systems’ somo•VIEWer™* advanced workstation for Automated Breast Ultrasound for use with Siemens’ ACUSON S2000™ Automated Breast Volume Scanner (ABVS), which recently received FDA 510 (k) clearance. This will allow physicians to obtain the comprehensive 3D view of the breast with the intuitive anatomical coronal plane not available with conventional ultrasound systems. The agreement will facilitate the adoption of Automated Breast Volume Ultrasound for women’s healthcare providers.

ABVS can make a significant contribution in diagnostic confidence for women with dense breast tissue and inconclusive mammograms. The coronal view provided by the somo•VIEWer workstation offers a more understandable representation of the global anatomy and architecture of the breast, which will ultimately improve patient care and increase clinical workflow.

source: Siemens Medical

Carestream Health Installs 2000th CR System With Digital Mammography Feature

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 15 — Carestream Health, Inc., installed its two thousandth high-resolution CR system for mammography at the Rechts der Isar Clinic in Munich, Germany.

CR EliteThe company’s KODAK DIRECTVIEW CR Mammography Feature—which enables mammography images to be captured digitally while utilizing a healthcare provider’s existing mammography x-ray unit and workflow processes—is intended for use in the same clinical and screening applications as traditional screen-film based mammography systems.

The Munich University Rechts der Isar Clinic, with its specialized team of physicians dedicated to mammography, installed a new multi-plate KODAK DIRECTVIEW CR 975 System with Mammography Feature in November. The clinic is part of the Institute for X-ray Diagnosis of the University of Munich, which performs more than 100,000 medical procedures each year and features a fully digital environment.

source: Carestream Health

FDA Scientists Request Investigation Into Agency Approval Of Breast Imaging Device

Scientists at FDA have requested that Congress and President-elect Obama investigate their allegations that an FDA official approved the sale of a breast cancer imaging device over the objections of the front-line scientists after receiving a phone call from a Connecticut congressman, according to the New York Times. The Times reports that the call from the congressman and its "effect on what is supposed to be a science-based approval process" represent "only one of many accusations in a trove of documents" the newspaper received regarding disputes within the FDA Office of Device Evaluation.

According to the Times, the documents show through e-mail correspondence that top agency scientists allege that an agency supervisor inappropriately forced them to modify reviews of the iCAD SecondLook Digital Computer-Aided Detection System for Mammography -- a computer device to assist in the detection of breast tumors -- after former Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) called an agency supervisor a few years ago to voice concerns about the future of the device. According to the Times, the device is used with screening equipment made by Fujifilm Medical Systems, which is based in Shays' former district. According to the FDA documents, the nine scientists involved with the iCAD decision said that the company "never tested the device by the intended users (i.e. radiologists) under the intended conditions of use. This is the most basic and fundamental requirement of all FDA submissions." The risks of iCAD include missed cancers, "unnecessary biopsy or even surgery (by placing false positive marks) and unnecessary additional radiation," according to an internal review.

source: Medical News Today

iCAD announces availability of its SecondLook Digital with Planmed Nuance Full Field Digital Mammography Systems outside of U.S.

iCAD®, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICAD), an industry-leading provider of Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) solutions, today announced that its SecondLook® Digital CAD technology customized for use with the Planmed Nuance FFDM system is now available outside of the U.S.

"When analyzing iCAD´s SecondLook Digital CAD with Planmed Nuance Full Field Digital Mammography unit using selenium flat panel detector, it was found
that the true positive findings detected at double reading of screening mammograms, were also marked accurately by CAD," said Dr. Martti Pamilo from Terveystalo, the leading private healthcare provider in Finland.

"We are excited to see the results of the iCAD´s SecondLook Digital CAD integration to the Nuance FFDM system," said Vesa Mattila, Vice President of Planmed. "As CAD is becoming widely accepted in Europe, iCAD's technology is an important addition to Planmed's digital mammography systems and solutions."

source: PR-Inside

Interpretation Time for Screening Digital Mammograms: Is it Efficient?

Digital mammograms take longer to interpret than film-screen mammograms, according to a study performed at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

The study included four radiologists who interpreted 268 digital screening mammograms and 189 film-screening mammograms. “The average interpretation time for all of our readers was 240 seconds (4 minutes) for digital screening mammograms and 127 seconds (2 minutes, 7 seconds) for film-screen screening mammograms,” said Tamara Miner Haygood, MD, lead author of the study. “The digital screening mammograms took nearly twice as long to interpret as the film-screen screening mammograms,” said Dr. Haygood.

The study identified factors that might have contributed to the difference in time. “Those factors were the identity of the interpreting radiologist, whether there were older studies available for comparison, whether the radiologist looked for and hung up additional films, how many images were obtained and whether the study was normal or not. In each of these situations, the digital images took longer to interpret than the film-screen images,” said Dr. Haygood.

source: ARRS

ACS Guidelines for Breast Screening with MRI May Be Excluding Some High-risk Women

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has developed a set of guidelines to recommend which high-risk women need to undergo screening with breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); however, these guidelines may unwittingly exclude some women who are at a high risk of carrying the BRCA mutation yet still don’t meet the limitations set by the ACS. The results of this study were published in the journal Cancer.[1]

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women in the United States, with approximately 180,000 cases diagnosed each year. Women with a family history of breast cancer are at an increased lifetime risk of developing the disease, as are women who carry a BRCA mutation. These women are encouraged to undergo more vigilant screening to allow for earlier detection and higher cure rates.

source: cancerconsultants.org

Medicare Rebate for Breast MRI (Australia)

A Medicare rebate for an MRI breast scan will be available to women under 50 at high risk of breast cancer and with no symptoms from 1 February 2009.

Being at high risk of breast cancer can cause significant anxiety. These scans can help reduce unnecessary concern, and help pick up breast cancer early.

The Australian Government is reducing the financial barrier of the cost of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan to encourage these women in the high risk category to monitor their health.

Women at high risk of breast cancer include, for example, women with three or more close blood relatives diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer.

Further details about the women eligible for this Medicare rebate will be available from 1 February 2009 on MBSonline at www.health.gov.au

source: Australian Givernment Dept.of Health