'Diagnostics is not diagnostics, not even when it relates to a specific indication such as breast cancer,' says Professor Walter Heindel MD (right), who heads the Munster Mammography and Breast Centre Reference Centre at Munster University Hospital, focusing on the dissimilarities among patient groups and their peculiarities.
Professor Friedrich Degenhardt (right), Head of the Gynaecology Clinic at Franziskus Hospital, Bielefeld and the Cooperative Breast Centre Bielefeld-Herford, Germany, is using elastosonography to examine breast carcinomas. We asked him to outline present finding as to its value, future potential, and the current value of ultrasound in breast cancer detection.
Siemens Healthcare has opened a new research centre in Cologne, where around 40 employees are developing new diagnostic tests to describe the molecular characteristics of breast cancer cells, to help physicians to select individual therapy.
If, in the early days of mammary sonography, it was revealed to be helpful to render tactual findings in a visible manner (sonic palpation), then now is the time to palpate clinically occult findings in a new manner (Elastoscan*).
German scientist Harald zur Hausen showed that oncogenic human papilloma virus (HPV) cause cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among women. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier from France discovered HIV.
Fighting breast cancer is always a race against time - early detection of breast carcinoma an essential condition for cure. Now Scientists from Finland, Germany and France developed a promising new CT technique with high resolution and contrast that visualises tumours that are even diffusely growing or those in dense breasts.
“Molecular breast imaging” (MBI), a new scintigraphy method developed by US researchers, might improve early detection of breast cancer in women with dense breasts. The results of an initial clinical study were recently presented at the Breast Cancer Symposium of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Washington, DC, USA.
Researchers compared the Norwegian organised population based mammogram screening every second year and a physician- or self-referrals annual test in the US. Both are equally sensitive, but the recall rate for abnormal results was lower in Norway.
As rocks keep the secrets of the earth, bones might keep those of the body. A new study that will be publish in the September 1, 2008 issue of CANCER suggests, that factors responsible for higher bone mineral density might also lead to higher risk of breast cancer.
Proton therapy is very sophisticated way of destroying tumours. Now the Swedish Medical company RaySearch Laboratories has signed a consulting agreement with Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden to develop a treatment-planning system.
Mammography is the common way to detect breast cancer. But it's not perfect: it struggles to image dense glandular tissue or early-stage tumours. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers best sensivity but it is expensiv and not always specific enough. Now researchers have come up with another option: a scanner that integrates thermoacoustic and photoacoustic tomography to achieve dual-contrast…
Wales - Jessica Tate is pregnant. Hers is a normal pregnancy. There is, however, some concern because she wants her baby to be born at home, but is often alone there because her partner must travel for his work. Mid-term, she is tired and has mild anaemia. At one stage in her pregnancy she also falsely believes labour has started and is worried. However, all should go well. She benefits from…
A study recently published in the online version of the American Journal of Roentgenology evaluated the clinical value of Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) software in the interpretation of mammograms. In the course of the study, the recall rate, sensitivity, positive predictive value, and cancer detection rate for single reading with CAD, versus double reading without CAD, were investigated.
GE Healthcare recently acquired Image Diagnost International GmbH, an IT provider specialised on developing integrated software solutions for mammography workflow and image processing. With this acquisition GE Healthcare expands its capabilities in offering clinicians and national screening services an even more expanded portfolio for the detection of breast cancer.
For women with breast symptoms such as lumps, the ability of diagnostic mammograms to detect breast cancer accurately depends strongly on which radiologist reads them, according to a Group Health study published online Dec. 11 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Dr Eduardo de la Sota reports
Stereoscopic digital mammography, a new diagnostic technique capable of producing three-dimensional (3-D) in-depth views of breast tissue, could significantly reduce the number of women who are recalled for additional tests following routine screening mammography.
“We have a broad set of products and services that enable healthcare providers to improve the quality and cost of patient care,” said Carestream Health's Chief Executive Officer Kevin J. Hobert with reference to Carestream´s RSNA highlights. “We have digital technology and consulting services that few companies can match, and our integrated imaging and IT solutions are helping healthcare…
X-ray based mammograms detect only 56% of early lesions in high risk women compared with 92% when MRI scanning (mostly used for brain scans), according to a study by Christiane Kuhl and colleagues at the University of Bonn (pub: the Lancet. 8/07).
Hologic will be one of the biggest exhibitors at the 93rd Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Switzerland - European experts presented and debates that controversial topic - breast cancer screening programmes - during a September symposium organised by Carestream Health.
The Vestfold County Study, performed by Norwegian researchers, is the first large scale study comparing the results of a particular full-field digital mammography system (FFDM) with that of conventional mammography. Einar Vigeland, Department of Radiology, Vestfold Hospital, Tønsberg, Norway, and his colleagues collected data over a period of two years.
Turkey - The recently opened 74-bed Florence Nightingale Kiziltoprak Hospital, which has three operating rooms and 10 ICU beds, is one of four hospitals in a Turkish healthcare network.
Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring malignant tumour worldwide. Of the more than one million newly diagnosed cases each year, the incidence among women in Germany alone is more than 50,000. That means that every tenth woman is stricken by breast cancer at some point in her life. It numbers among the most frequent causes of death by cancer 1,2,3 , with the average age of onset being…
By Beate M Stoeckelhuber MD, Associate Professor and Radiology (Interim) Director at the Department of Radiology, Luebeck University, Germany, with Smaragda Kapsimalakou MD, also at Luebeck