QSUM Quips - Sept. 2015
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Monthly Highlights
MAMMOGRAPHY:
Cash for Mammograms Is 'Ethically Troubling'. Breast cancer screening is a case in point: incentives for completion of mammograms are an ethically disconcerting distraction in a complex decision-making process. However, incentives for making an evidence-based active choice about breast screening can be ethical-even if this policy may avert fewer breast cancer deaths overall. 

National Poll Finds Majority of Women in Favor of Annual Mammogram. Fifty-seven percent of American women believe they should receive a mammogram annually, according to the Truven Health Analytics-NPR Health Poll. 

Early mammography reduces breast cancer mortality with minor overdiagnosis rates. "Overall, these results support an early reduction mortality from breast cancer with annual mammography screening in women aged 40-49 years," Moss and colleagues wrote. "Synthesis of results from all the trials, and further data from modern service screening might clarify long-term effects. Cumulative incidence figures suggest at worst a small amount of over diagnosis." 

ULTRASOUND:
Delphinus raises $39.5M for whole breast ultrasound. Delphinus Medical Technologies just closed out a $39.5 million Series C round - what investors say is the Midwests largest medical device fundraiser. 

What You Should Know About Your First Ultrasound. If the doctor hands you a referral to have an ultrasound instead, don't panic. 

Global Automated Breast Ultrasound System (ABUS) Market is Anticipated to Grow at a CAGR of 8.1% Through 2025. In terms of value, the global ABUS market is projected to register a healthy CAGR of 8.1% during the forecast period. 

Karmanos Cancer Institute Studying New Breast Cancer Detection Technology. "It's a way to scan your whole breast in warm water using the ultrasound technology unlike compression and radiation like a mammogram. 

MRI:
OU and Mercy Hospital OKC developing new screening models for breast cancer detection. OU and Mercy will develop and apply two new short-term breast cancer risk prediction approaches: a rule-in approach for identifying women who are excluded from current breast MRI screening guidelines but have a higher risk of developing or harboring mammography-occult (hidden) breast cancers, which can be detected by breast MRI; and a rule-out approach for women with an elevated lifetime cancer risk but no imminent risk. 

MRI, near-infrared spectral tomography combination increases specificity in breast cancer imaging. By combining two imaging modalities, investigators demonstrated that a dual breast examination using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and near-infrared spectral tomography (NIRST) is feasible and more accurate than MRI alone.

Tell-tale biomarker detects early breast cancer in NIH-funded study. Researchers have shown that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect the earliest signs of breast cancer recurrence and fast-growing tumors. Their approach detects micrometastases, breakaway tumor cells with the potential to develop into dangerous secondary breast cancer tumors elsewhere in the body. 

NEW TECHNOLOGY:
Scientists Work on New 'Liquid Biopsy' for Breast Cancer. British scientists say they've got a promising new blood test that might warn breast cancer patients that they're about to have a relapse. 

App helps connect Yale breast cancer patients, caregivers. It's a simple daily text message that reminds women with breast cancer to take their medication, but it's much more than that. 

AirXpanders Files 510(k) Submission for Breast Tissue Expander. The expander is placed underneath the chest muscle, with the goal of stretching the tissue of the chest wall to make room for a permanent breast implant. It achieves tissue expansion through a controlled delivery of small amounts of carbon dioxide. 

Software Finds and Separates Benign From Malignant DCIS and Breast Cancer. Donate your mammogram images to a crowdsourcing campaign and help confirm that a new visual recognition software presents a breakthrough in early detection and distinguishing benign from malignant precursors (DCIS) and lesions through the use of "Lesion Tissue Profiling (LTP). 

Kubtec Patent Promotes Strong Prognosis for the Future of Breast Conserving Surgery. The Mozart System with TomoSpec Technology, the world's first portable 3-D Digital Specimen Tomosynthesis Imaging System, is unique in its field. 

MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES:
Preliminary results suggest Mediterranean diet reduces breast cancer risk. Women who were randomly assigned to follow a Mediterranean diet -- one with lots of fruits, vegetables, olive oil and fish, but not much red meat, dairy or sugar -- had a 68% lower risk of breast cancer after 4.8 years, compared to women told to follow a low-fat diet, according to the study, published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Natural compound could reduce breast cancer risk in some women.  researchers have found that luteolin, a natural compound found in herbs such as thyme and parsley as well as vegetables such as celery and broccoli, could reduce the cancer risk for women who have taken hormone replacement therapy.

Genetic testing all women for breast cancer might not be worth the cost. A new study questions the value of screening for the genetic mutations in the general population-including those who do not have cancer or have no family history of the disease- because of the high cost. 

Acupuncture reduces hot flashes in breast cancer survivors. Hot flashes are particularly severe and frequent in breast cancer survivors, but current FDA-approved remedies for these unpleasant episodes, such as hormone replacement therapies are off-limits to breast cancer survivors because they include estrogen. 

Rockwoods IceCure machine can solve benign breast tumors. The Food and Drug Administration approved cryoablation to treat fibroadenomas in 2002, surgeon Dr. Renu Sinha, noting it isn't recommended for malignant tumors but is a cost-effective, noninvasive option to surgery for benign breast tumors. 

Men Under the Breast Knife Opt for Preventive Mastectomy. Women and men who survive breast cancer all share the same fear: that they'll be diagnosed with it again in the future. This is why so many breast cancer patients choose to undergo contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM), surgery to remove the healthy breast in addition to the breast with malignant tissue, to hopefully reduce the risk in a future diagnosis. 

Stiffer Matrix in Fat Tissue May Promote Breast Cancer Risk. For women, the work suggests, losing weight may reshape fat tissue and lower the chances of getting cancer. On the other hand, the growing practice of using fat from obese women for reconstructive surgery of their breast may pose a risk that had been overlooked until now. 

Breast Cancer: Intervention Helpful for Weight Loss. The mean weight loss of breast cancer patients in an intervention group was significantly higher than that of a control group, according to analysis of the Exercise and Nutrition to Enhance Recovery and Good Health for You (ENERGY) Trial published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. 

Free DNA screening for breast cancer coming in October from HudsonAlpha institute. HudsonAlpha announced Wednesday it will test all interested women in Madison County, free for those age 30 and at cost for all other women. http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2015/08/free_breast_cancer_dna_screeni.html

Ten Ways to Cut Epidemic of Breast Cancer Reoperation. To address this ongoing problem, the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBS) convened a special multidisciplinary consensus conference in May, entitled the Collaborative Attempt to Lower Lumpectomy Reoperation Rates (CALLER). 

Reactivation of multipotency by oncogenic PIK3CA induces breast tumour heterogeneity. The two most frequently mutated genes and are associated with different types of human breast cancers. 

ASRT Launches New Online Social Network. Members of the American Society of Radiologic Technologists can now access the new ASRT Communities, an updated online social network that allows radiologic technologists to exchange ideas, share documents and participate in practice-related discussions.

Older breast cancer patients less likely to benefit from chemo. Women over the age of 80 with breast cancer, the chances of survival due to chemotherapy are significantly lower. 

Researchers identify the cells at the origin of breast cancers. Bordet Institute, Belgium, uncovered the cellular origin of PIK3CA-induced breast tumors and demonstrated that the cancer cell of origin controls tumor heterogeneity and is associated with different breast tumors types and clinical prognosis. 

BLOGS:
What the Headlines Got Wrong about the New DCIS Study. Recent news headlines have suggested that women with the earliest form of breast cancer should rethink undergoing treatment because it may not impact their long-term survival. But breast cancer experts interviewed for this article say the study results that spurred those headlines should not be interpreted as a message to forego or change standard treatment.

Boobs, Fashion & Balls??  Like my title? well this article entails all 3 therefore what a better name?

Physical Therapy Helps Breast Cancer.  Physical therapy helps with pain management, range of motion and muscle function.

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