Dense Breast Tissue Not Problematic for Molecular Breast Imaging

Molecular breast imaging (MBI) has been found to detect cancer independently of breast tissue density. These new findings were gathered from over 300 breast cancer patients that underwent the MBI/BSGI procedure. The same high rate of 95% of breast cancer detection was validated for women with or without breast density.

This significant finding was published in January 2014 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology by a group of radiologists and surgeons at the George Washington University Medical Center (Washington DC, USA). “This study indicates that breast tissue density is simply a non-issue for MBI/BSGI,” said Douglas Kieper, vice president for science and technology at Dilon Technologies (Newport News, VA, USA), a developer of MBI systems. “This is great news for patients who have an inconclusive mammogram due to breast density, implants, or scarring.”

A range of studies has shown that mammography is less effective in patients with dense breast tissue, missing as much as 50% of breast cancers. Breast MRI is known to be more sensitive than mammography or ultrasound in women with dense breasts, but at a much higher cost per scan. Conversely, MBI, also known as breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI), is an imaging procedure that has been demonstrated in several clinical studies to be better than mammography or ultrasound for detecting breast cancer, particularly in women with dense breasts. Moreover, the MBI/BSGI procedure can be conducted at one-third of the cost of an MRI and it can be offered to patients who cannot undergo an MRI scan, such as women with pacemakers, those who are on dialysis or are claustrophobic.

For years, women who have dense breasts were typically oblivious of their breast density or of the possibility that their negative mammogram might be missing cancers. That is until recently, as several states in the United States have passed legislation requiring breast centers to inform patients with dense breasts that their mammogram might be inconclusive. The state of Oregon new breast density law includes BSGI as one of the technology alternative that should be considered for patients who receive a dense-breast notification from their doctor. The state of Indiana goes beyond that by requiring state employee-health plans to cover additional medical examination for women with high breast density.

Dilon Technologies, Inc. is a developer of diagnostic imaging with the Dilon molecular imaging systems, high-resolution, small field-of-view general-use imaging cameras, optimized to perform molecular breast imaging (MBI/BSGI) and localization for MBI-guided breast biopsy. Dilon’s surgical imaging products, the Navigator probes, are one of the most widely used gamma probes for cancer surgery. The gamma probes offer an upgrade option for three-dimensional (3D) tumor imaging and navigation with SurgicEye’s (Munich, Germany) declipseSPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) camera.

Dilon is the exclusive international distributor of Digirad’s (Atlanta, GA, USA) Cardius cardiac and ergo general molecular imaging cameras that provide excellent image quality and increased patient comfort with a compact, open design.

Related Links:
George Washington University Medical Center
Dilon Technologies