QSUM Quips - April 2015
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Cindy & Hudson
The Latest News
MAMMOGRAPHY:
3-D Technology is Changing Breast Cancer Diagnoses. There are many new technologies being developed for breast cancer screening, especially 3-D alternatives that may eventually replace today's 2-D mammography. The FDA has already approved two of these state-of-the-art devices: the Hologic Selenia Dimensions 3-D system, which provides 3-D tomosynthesis images of the breast for breast cancer diagnosis, and GE Healthcare's SenoClaire, which uses a combination of 2-D mammogram images and 3-D tomosynthesis images. 

ULTRASOUND:
Ultrasound good enough for most teens with breast lumps. Breast ultrasound findings can obviate the need for excisional biopsy in most cases of teenage girls with breast lumps, according to recent research from Loyola University Health System. 

MRI:
The role of MRI in axillary lymph node imaging in breast cancer patients: a systematic review. The diagnostic performance of some MRI protocols for excluding axillary lymph node metastases approaches the NPV needed to replace SLNB. However, current observations are based on studies with heterogeneous study designs and limited populations. 

How Green Tea Could Help Improve MRIs. Scientists report in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces that they successfully used compounds from green tea to help image cancer tumors in mice. 

Long-term study confirms safety of gadolinium MRI contrast agent. he contrast you are given is safe and this test will help you far more than any potential harm it may do." 

PET/PEM:
MR Spectroscopy Shows Precancerous Breast Changes in Women with BRCA Gene. Researchers assessed 2-D localized correlated spectroscopy (L-COSY) as a noninvasive means to identify biochemical changes associated with a very early stage of cancer development known as the pre-invasive state. 

BIOPSY:
Accuracy High for Pathologists Interpreting Breast Biopsy. This study confirms that the majority of diagnoses, especially at either end of the spectrum from benign to invasive cancer, are readily and accurately made by practicing pathologists. 

Breast biopsies no longer reliable. New findings are challenging the common belief that a biopsy is the end-all answer to resolve any questions they might have about unclear mammograms. 

Doctors don't always agree on breast biopsies, and say women with aytpia or DCIS should seek second opinions. While doctors almost always agree on a pathological diagnosis of invasive breast cancer, there is room for improvement when diagnosing atypia (or atypical ductal hyperplasia-ADH) and DCIS (ductal carcinoma in-situ). 


HOT TOPIC; BREAST DENSITY
Breast imaging providers must lead density education. In our breast imaging center, we have long made it a practice to have onsite reads of mammograms followed by in-person consultations with our patients. 

Advocating Breast Density. The push for additional screening is becoming prevalent, and many states are enacting laws that require women to be notified if they have dense breast tissue and what that means in terms of the ability to accurately find cancer. 

New Breast Density Technology Debuts at ECR Conference. A new research technology was profiled today during scientific sessions at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) in Vienna, Austria. Densitas Research Edition assesses mammographic breast density using 'for presentation' digital mammography images. 

All Women Should Have Access To Ultrasound Screening For Breast Cancer. The optimal screening program should include ultrasound for women with dense breasts. The sound-wave test is good for detecting invasive cancers that are otherwise hard-to-spot in cloudy mammograms of dense breasts. 

NEW TECHNOLOGY:
Expanding on liquid biopsies with exosomes. A new type of liquid biopsy for solid tumors based on analyzing exosomes from the blood is being tested by clinicians. "The term 'liquid biopsy' describes the fact that a simple blood sample can contain many tumor-derived molecules and even tumor cells, enabling molecular analyses similar to those possible in tumor tissue samples. 

New imaging tool targets degenerative diseases. Researchers have developed the first imaging reagent that can determine thiol levels in intact living cells. Now they are working on reagents that can selectively show thiol density in subcellular structures, specifically the nucleus and mitochondria, hoping to develop a nontoxic reagent safe enough to be used for diagnostic imaging, like an MRI. 

MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES:
Natural extract shows promise for preventing breast cancer, study suggests. The extract from rosehips - the fruit of the rose plant - significantly reduced the growth and migration of cells from a type of breast cancer known as triple negative. This particularly aggressive form of cancer does not respond to most available treatments and tends to affect young women as well as those who are African-American or Hispanic. 

Switch that might tame most aggressive of breast cancers. So-called 'triple-negative breast cancers' are two distinct diseases that likely originate from different cell types, researchers have found. They have also found a gene that drives the aggressive disease, and hope to find a way to 'switch it off'. 

Obesity and breast cancer prognosis: weight makes a difference. 

Racial, ethnic differences in picking surgeons, hospitals for breast cancer care. Black and Hispanic women with breast cancer were less likely to pick their surgeon and the hospital for treatment based on reputation compared with white women, suggesting minority patients may rely more on physician referrals and health plans in those decisions. 

Breast implants could become safer thanks to cell-friendly surface. Scientists have created an enhanced surface for silicone breast implants which could reduce complications and make them less likely to be rejected by the body. 

Breast Cancer Survivors at Increased Risk for Thyroid Cancer. Breast cancer survivors are at increased risk of developing primary thyroid cancer compared with the general population. 

NCCN Recommends Only One Genomic Test for Breast Cancer. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) only endorses one genomic test for use in patients with early-stage breast cancer. Oncotype DX, a 21-gene assay from Genomic Health, has won that honor. 

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