White nights in St Petersburg draw in not only romantics, but June in this beautiful city also sees thousands of delegates arrive to attend the many scientific conferences and congresses. Among oncologists, the ‘white nights’ period means another annual scientific conference organised by the NN Petrov Research Institute of Oncology. For its continuing focus on breast cancer, the halls are…
During his Honorary Lecture at the 8th Düsseldorf Breast Cancer Conference in Germany world renowned surgeon and oncologist Prof. Veronesi reflected about the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.
A study looking at breast cancer patients in England compared to those in Norway and Sweden has highlighted the importance of early detection. The three-country comparison reveals that every year almost 1,000 more lives could be saved in England alone.
The Italian firm Internazionale Medico Scientifica (IMS) produces highly innovative mammography units under the brand name Giotto. More than 3,500 Giotto systems are now in use in 38 countries, mostly in Europe, America, China and the Far East. Reason enough for European Hospital to visit IMS in Pontecchio Marconi, Bologna.
Invited by Dr Mahdi Rezai, medical director of the breast centre at Luisen Hospital in Düsseldorf, Germany, and founder of the European Academy of Senology, some 1,400 international specialists attended the 8th Düsseldorf Breast Cancer Conference this June where leading experts evaluated new imaging methods.
Innovative technologies such as elastography, shearwave and 3-D have been cause for euphoria in today’s ultrasound world. The most recent development in breast imaging also has the potential to revolutionise this field, because the Automated Volume Breast Scanner (ABVS) is allowing user-independent and reproducible image acquisition for the first time.
The German Senology Society has campaigned for women’s breast health for 30 years. Founded in 1980 on the then very novel concept of organ-related, interdisciplinary, scientific cooperation, today a large percentage of the society’s 1,800 members are gynaecologists, radiologists, surgeons and internists.
The overall success of MRI in diagnosing breast cancer and the exploding demand for breast MRI, in particular, have caused a scanner shortage in much of Europe. Dr Jean-Pierre Pruvo, Chairman of the French Society of Radiology, recently raised the alarm: ‘We have hundreds of thousands of women in France at risk for breast cancer, yet we do not have the means to provide a breast examination by…
The limitations of mammography are well documented, yet it is still the gold standard in breast cancer detection - particularly due to the positive cost-benefit ratio. Due to prohibitive costs, MRI exams are performed only in well-defined cases. The HIGHREX project (www.highrex.eu) aims to evaluate Single Shot Spectral Imaging (SSSI) technology for use in mamma diagnostics.
Performing pre-operative breast MRI in all women with invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) can reduce the need for re-excision, according to a study conducted through two major cancer centres - the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre and the Netherlands Cancer Hospital/Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital.
Within Germany’s mammography screening programme, more than 10 million women, aged between 50 and 69 years, are entitled to a breast examination. It’s taken just over a year for all 94 of the country’s screening units to open their doors to meet this demand comprehensively.
An international survey of women with metastatic breast cancer conducted to evaluate their perceptions of quality of life and what additional medical information and support was needed to help them uncovered an unexpected finding. At a time when patients with incurable cancer are needed to participate in clinical trials, the majority of these women were never advised about any breast cancer…
Members of a Syracuse University research team in the USA have shown that an obscure phenomenon called stochastic resonance (SR) can improve the clarity of signals in systems such as radar, sonar and even radiography, used in medical clinics to detect signs of breast cancer. It does this by adding carefully selected noise to the system.
Hologic is using the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) at McCormick Place in Chicago, November 1 through 5, 2009, to feature the MammoSite ML radiation therapy system.
In addition to being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this October is the tenth anniversary of digital mammography, a technology introduced by GE Healthcare in 1999. Similar to digital photography, digital mammography replaces the film used in traditional mammography with digital files viewed and stored on computers.
A paper of Professor Christiane K Kuhl and her colleagues had discovered that, to detect pre-invasive breast cancer (DCIS), the addition of high-resolution MRI and state-of-the-art mammography offered a significantly higher sensitivity compared with state-of-the-art mammography.
Breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) is a promising new technology designed to supplement mammography and breast ultrasound examinations when these show suspicious findings. By helping to detect early stage breast cancer it may reduce significantly the number of negative biopsies performed. Dilon Technologies (Newport News, Virginia), pioneer of this technology, received the CE Mark to sell its…
Preliminary results of a study on the acceptance of the German mammography screening programme indicate that women support current efforts to detect breast cancer early.
Reducing dose and producing excellent image quality at the same time is the challenge of today´s mammography systems. The Institute for Clinical Radiology at the University Clinic Munich managed this challenge with the installation of two new digital full-field mammography solutions which in addition can be used for tomosynthesis. At June 25th, the clinic will demonstrate the benefits of these…
European healthcare facilities are turning to vendor-neutral, multi-modality breast imaging workstations to streamline reading of digital breast exams. The KODAK CARESTREAM Mammography Workstation enables diagnostic review of all breast imaging exams (FFDM, ultrasound, MR, CR and others) as well as all general radiology exams.
Senology is fast becoming a medical specialty that utilises methods and knowledge from various medical disciplines specifically to treat breast cancer. Based in Dusseldorf, the European Academy of Senology (EAoS) aims to close the gap between theory and practical applications.
Among the most important EU guidelines for efficient breast cancer screening is the assumption that it is a low-threshold offer, which, after an initial start-up period, will include at least 70% of all women aged between 50 and 69. To ensure that this quota is met in areas that lack infrastructure, whilst also keeping personnel expenditure at bay, for the last few years mammobiles have toured…
Although breast cancer, the most common disease affecting women, accounts for over 30% of all the cancers they suffer (far ahead of colon, ovary or lung cancer), breast cancer is responsible for only 1% of cancer related deaths.
Every year the German Society for Senology congress facilitates interdisciplinary breast cancer discussion between gynaecologists, radiologists, surgeons, pathologists, internists, radio-oncologists and plastic surgeons. In an interview with Karoline Laarmann, of European Hospital, radiologist Professor Ingrid Schreer (right), head of the Breast Centre at the University Women's Hospital in Kiel,…
The breast cancer risk of women who are regularly physically active in the postmenopausal phase is reduced by about one third compared to relatively inactive women, according to a study conducted by the German Cancer Research Centre (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) and the University Hospitals of Hamburg-Eppendorf.