ACR Members Involved in New Molecular Breast Imaging Technique
Two ACR members were part of a Mayo Clinic research group that is claiming success with an innovative gamma camera for breast imaging, a technique they are calling molecular breast imaging.
ACR Fellow Stephen W. Phillips, MD, and Douglas A. Collins, MD, were part of the team whose findings are reported in the January issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. According to Phillips, the molecular breast imaging technique resulted in an 86% rate of detection, the highest sensitivity reported for a gamma camera in the detection of small breast tumors.
About 25% to 40% of women have dense breast tissue which reduces the chance of a mammogram detecting a cancer, Collins notes in a Mayo Clinic press release. However, he adds, "With molecular breast imaging, the visibility of the tumor is not influenced by the density of the surrounding tissue, so this technique is well-suited to find cancers in women whose mammograms may not be very accurate."
In an accompanying editorial, ACR member Rachel F. Brem, MD, director of breast imaging and intervention at George Washington University Medical Center, applauds the study for furthering knowledge and providing additional credibility to molecular breast imaging. However, she continues, further study is needed at multiple sites to "refine and advance the findings."
"I hope that with time, molecular breast imaging using a high-resolution breast-specific gamma camera will be embraced and used by breast imagers and nuclear medicine physicians for the benefit of women, for the improved diagnosis of breast cancer, and ultimately for better survival from breast cancer," Brem writes.
Click here to read the Mayo Clinic press release on the molecular breast imaging study.