Breast cancer screening hope for women under 50

Technology is exclusively available through BreastHealth UK clinics

CAMBRIDGE, 19 MAY 2010: Research from Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge announced today indicates that women under 50 years of age, and worried about their breast health, can now have breast screening that has greater sensitivity in detecting breast cancer than standard mammograms alone. Until now breast screening using mammography alone, has had the potential to miss tumours as breast tissue is dense and image interpretation difficult, particularly in younger women. Now, research using Digital Infrared BreastScan (DIB) in combination with mammograms increases the sensitivity of detecting tumours to 89%.1 The study, published in the European Journal of Surgical Oncology, shows that dual imaging increases sensitivity by 11% compared with mammograms alone (78%).

Mammography has resulted in a 15–20% reduction in breast cancer mortality. However, it is not offered regularly to women under 50. For younger women there is much interest in alternative/ complementary imaging techniques that will increase the sensitivity of breast cancer detection. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women under 35.

Professor Gordon Wishart, Principal Investigator of this study stated: “It has previously been suggested that Digital Infrared BreastScan is as sensitive in younger women as it is in older women. In fact, the results from this study show even better performance in women under 50, especially when combined with mammography, and strongly support the use of this technology for younger women where delays in diagnosis are more common. Although the numbers in the study are small, they are very promising.”

He went on to say “Recent data from Cambridge2, based on 7004 women attending a one-stop diagnostic clinic, showed that although the missed cancer rate was low (4.1 per 1000), those cancers most commonly missed occured in women aged 40-49 with dense or very dense breast tissues. We are therefore delighted that the combination of Digital Infrared BreastScan and mammography in this study substantially increased the detection rate for younger women to 89% compared to mammography alone (78%).”

Digital Infrared BreastScan was introduced by BreastHealth UK (www.BreastHealthUK.com) in 2008 and is available through a network of private breast screening clinics across the UK. DIB uses a temperature sensitive camera to detect ‘hot spots’ within the breast which are the signature of increased blood supply; something that occurs in 86% of breast tumours, many of which are too small to be felt by self-examination.
Troels Jordansen, Managing Director of BreastHealth UK outlined: “Many women under 50 are worried about their breast health because a friend, colleague or family members has had breast cancer, but find it difficult to get access to quality breast advice and screening. We have seen a significant increase in interest in Digital Infrared BreastScan from breast specialists and there are now an increasing number of women seeking more comprehensive screening. With an expanding national network of private breast screening clinics, a corporate breast awareness service, and state of the art technology BreastHealth UK is ready to help women of all ages stay breast aware.”

The story was widely following and below you can see some of the articles:
BBC radio Cambridgeshire website
Daily Mail article
Daily Mail website

References

1. Wishart GC, Campisi M, Boswell M, Chapman D, Shackleton V, Iddles S, Hallett A, Britton PD. The accuracy of digital infrared imaging for breast cancer detection in women undergoing breast biopsy. Eur J Surg Oncol (2010), doi:10.1016/j.ejso.2010.04.003.
2. Britton P, Duffy SW, Sinnatamby R, Wallis MG, Barter S, Gaskarth M, O’Neill A, Caldas C, Brenton JD, Forouhi P, Wishart GC. One-stop diagnostic breast clinics: how often are breast cancers missed? Br J Cancer (2009); 100: 1873-1878.

For further information please contact: Amanda Politzer, Kate Baker or Katy Jarrett at BOTTLE PR. T: 01865 882988 E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

About the Study

The study involved 100 patients scheduled for breast biopsy, following detection of an abnormality on clinical examination or breast imaging (mammography, ultrasound or MRI). The research-clinician performing Digital Infrared BreastScan was blinded to the previous imaging results and all data was stored until the results of the biopsy were known. Of the 106 biopsies performed in 100 women, 65 were malignant and 41 were benign. Of the 65 patients with a malignant biopsy, 42 were detected by routine screening mammography and the average invasive tumour size was 19mm (range 1-48mm).