New Breast Cancer Diagnostic
College professor, 61 year old Karin Wexler, wasted no time when she first felt a lump on her breast three years ago. “Within 3 minutes, I had called my doctor and went for a mammogram and sonogram right away and nothing showed up on the mammogram even though the radiologist could feel it herself with her hand, we couldn’t pick it up on the mammogram,” says Karin.
Doctors performed a lumpectomy and discovered that Karin did indeed have stage one breast cancer. For many women like Karin, mammography, while still the first-line screening tool for breast cancer, can miss abnormalities. Dense tissue and cancers can have a similar appearance on mammography, making it difficult to identify cancers…this can result in false negative mammograms and in addition lead to unnecessary biopsies.
But now, thanks to breast specific gamma imaging, cancerous tissue can be identified that may go undetected by mammography. “This is different than traditional breast imaging like mammography or sonography or even MRI in that it is not anatomical imaging but it is more what we call functional imaging so in other words we are picking up areas where the cells are beginning to be more active like cancer cells can and allows us to identify these cells at a much earlier stage before we might be able to see an abnormality on a mammogram a sonogram or even an MRI so it is very, very exciting,” says Dr. Sheldon Marc Feldman of Beth Israel Medical Center.
The BSGI technology uses a special dye which is injected intravenously. It’s then absorbed by any areas in the breast tissue that may be overacting metabolically, signaling cancer. BSGI is particularly useful in serving as a complementary tool to detect breast cancer in women with difficult-to-read mammograms, such as those with dense breast tissue, breast implants or scar tissue.
“We know that 20 percent of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer have normal mammograms and that is because the cancers cannot be seen because the breast is too dense,” says Dr. Feldman.
According to Dr. Feldman, MRI results can also be difficult to interpret and thus has a significant miss rate. In comparison, the BSGI technology is very accurate and patients can receive same-day results. The equipment requires no breast compression and the portable camera is small enough to fit in any breast center exam room. “We also use this as a test for women who have been newly diagnosed with breast cancer where we are trying to decide surgically how much breast tissue do we need to remove to do a good operation and this allows us to see the breast tissue in another way to help us judge exactly how much breast tissue needs to be removed,” says Dr. Feldman.
Karin’s treatment included surgery and then radiation therapy. Thanks to her diligence, taking action immediately when she first felt the lump, she has been able to return to her passion, teaching. Now, as part of her regular check-up, doctors scan Karin with the BSGI technology. Today, she got a clean bill of health. “I feel much safer and secure to know there is something more sensitive to pick up any cancerous activity or anything suspicious and it also can reduce the risk of having to have needle biopsies unnecessarily,” says Karin.
According to medical experts, the basic recommendation is that all women should have a base line screening mammogram between the ages of 35 and 40. And then, yearly mammograms are crucial once you’ve hit 40. It’s usually recommended starting mammography earlier, if you’ve had a lump in your breast, or if there is a first degree relative, such as a mother, sister or daughter who has been diagnosed.