Molecular Breast Imaging Performs Better Than Ultrasound In Patients With Mammographic Abnormalities

Main Category: Breast Cancer
Also Included In: MRI / PET / Ultrasound
Article Date: 02 Dec 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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For difficult to diagnose patients, Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI) is found to be a more useful adjunctive imaging tool than ultrasound for patients who need additional imaging following a questionable mammogram, this according to findings presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). BSGI is a molecular breast imaging technique that can see lesions independent of tissue density and discover very early stage cancers.

"My colleagues and I found that in women who needed further examination beyond mammography in the diagnosis of breast cancer, BSGI offered more definitive answers than ultrasound," said Dr. Jean Weigert, Director of Women's Imaging at Mandell and Blau M.D.'s PC, in New Britain, Conn.

Dr. Weigert conducted a study comparing BSGI to ultrasound in patients who required additional imaging following a mammogram. As part of their diagnostic evaluation, 70 patients had mammography, ultrasound, BSGI and biopsy. BSGI and ultrasound had 96 percent and 58 percent sensitivity respectively and 55 percent and 43 percent specificity respectively. These results demonstrate that BSGI may be more useful than ultrasound as an adjunctive imaging technology to mammography.

BSGI for the study was conducted using a Dilon 6800 Gamma Camera, a high-resolution, small field-of-view gamma camera, optimized to perform BSGI. With BSGI, the patient receives a pharmaceutical tracing agent that is absorbed by all the cells in the body. Due to their increased rate of metabolic activity, cancerous cells in the breast absorb a greater amount of the tracing agent than the normal surrounding tissue and generally appear as "hot spots" on the BSGI image.

Dr. Weigert concluded that, "BSGI provided superior sensitivity and comparable -- if not better -- specificity in this group of patients with questionable mammograms requiring additional diagnostic imaging. BSGI may be a more useful modality than ultrasound as an adjunct imaging technology to mammography."

About Dilon Technologies

Dilon Technologies Inc. is bringing innovative new medical imaging products to market. Dilon's cornerstone product, the Dilon 6800, is a high-resolution, small field-of-view gamma camera, optimized to perform BSGI, a molecular breast imaging procedure which images the metabolic activity of breast lesions through radiotracer uptake. Many leading medical centers around the country are now offering BSGI to their patients, including: Cornell University Medical Center, New York; George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, D.C.; and The Rose, Houston.

For more information on Dilon Technologies please visit http://www.dilon.com.

Dilon Technologies Inc.
http://www.dilon.com