This actually sounds a bit like something from a science fiction novel, but it’s really sounding like a promising way to detect early breast cancer highly effectively so far, so that much we know it exciting.  With all the attention focused on breast cancer research, it’s nice to see that about a few times a month we see new developments in early detection – which is one of the single highest variables in beating breast cancer since the  more advanced it becomes the harder it is to treat and the more likely it can be fatal.

The newest method of high tech breast cancer and breast tumor detection is called molecular breast imaging, and it uses radioactivity to search out and “light up” breast cancer cells, clusters of breast cancer cells, or tumors that are growing within the tissue of breasts that are particularly dense.  Dense breasts are breasts that are often misdiagnosed or are missed for breast cancer detection because the tissue is simply so dense that traditional detection methods may not work.  This is very promising for women who have denser breast tissue naturally and women who are younger since their breasts tend to be firmer and more dense, and lose density naturally with age.

The cool thing about molecular breast imaging is that it is already in advanced stages of clinical testing, and it is thought that this method may be cheaper to perform (less out of your pocket if you have one) than traditional MRI’s which are often ordered for women who’s breast tissue is too dense for anything to be found through a traditional mammogram.

Researchers say that even the testing for this method has been very compelling because the screenings with the new imaging revealed images that would have been otherwise missed or possibly overlooked in women with dense breasts if they had undergone a traditional mammography screening. 

They say that this was the most compelling evidence that this test may run laps around the mammogram.  The only thing I don’t like about it is that it uses radioactivity as a means of detection, but I guess at times it is necessary to save lives, and the exposure is minimal so I guess it’s not all that bad. 

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Posted in Breast Cancer Prevention by Breast News Girl No Comments Yet