Radiology Journal Publishes Data That PEM Scanners May Reduce Unnecessary Breast Biopsies And Offer An Alternative For Women Who Cannot Tolerate MRI

The Radiology journal released new data from an NIH-sponsored, multi-site study of hundreds of women with newly diagnosed breast cancer that shows Positron Emission Mammography (PEM) may reduce unnecessary breast biopsies. The study found that PEM was significantly more precise at identifying benign and cancerous lesions, in what scientists call "Positive Predictive Value" or "PPV," therefore reducing the number of unnecessary biopsies. A common physician complaint regarding the use of Breast MRI is its tendency to identify suspicious lesions, requiring biopsies, which ultimately are found to be benign.

This finding is a welcomed outcome for women and physicians looking for ways to reduce the patient trauma associated with biopsies and for payors looking to reduce the costs associated with unnecessary procedures. The 388 woman study showed that PEM not only demonstrated a six percent improvement in specificity at comparably high sensitivity, but that PEM also had 31 fewer unnecessary biopsies and 26% higher PPV than Breast MR.

source: Naviscan