New breast scan in the news....

FloridaLady

New way to spot breast cancer shows promise
A radioactive tracer that "lights up" cancer hiding inside dense breasts showed promise in its first big test against mammograms,  doctors reported Wednesday.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26529277/from/ET/

pattyinarnold

Floridalady,

Thank you so much for the artical.  As my daughter,son and I go off to the Susan G Koman walking for a cure in SF CA.  I go with new hope fo my daughter and any granddaughters I might be lucky enough to have in the future.  You made my day.

Pattyinarnold

otter

Apparently the folks at Mayo Clinic have been investigating this method for several years, but it's all over the news today because of the oncology meeting.  It has since been adopted by other cancer centers, although I don't know how widespread its use is.

Here is more information about the method, which is called "MBI" (molecular breast imaging):  http://www.healthimaging.com/content/view/10638/118/

The technique is based on the fact that cancer cells have a higher level of metabolic activity, and they'll pick up and accumulate more of the radioactive tracer than normal cells will:  http://medicalphysicsweb.org/cws/article/industry/26669 

"...The women were injected with a small amount of a radioactive drug, sestamibi, which preferentially travels to tumours, which absorb the substance.

"During the scan, each breast was lightly compressed between the gamma cameras, with just enough pressure to keep it stationary for 5–10 min while several pictures were taken. "It is much more comfortable for women because a force of only 15 lb is used, compared with the 45 lb force compression needed to take a mammogram," said O'Connor.

"The images showed that a small amount of the sestamibi was usually absorbed throughout the breast. But in cancerous areas, the amount of drug absorption was significantly increased."

The image is captured with a special type of gamma camera:   http://www.dilon.com/medicalprofessionals.php 

From what I've read (thanks to FloridaLady's post), it looks like the MBI method will be considerably less expensive than a breast MRI.  The articles are suggesting it will cost only slightly more than mammography, but will be significantly better at detecting tumors in dense breast tissue.

MBI may also be useful for women with "atypical" lesions.  There is a clinical trial underway right now, to test it in women with atypical lobular hyperplasia, atypical ductal hyperplasia, and lobular carcinoma in situ:  http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00620087 

We certainly need a technology like this.  Now, what can we do to make sure our breast centers buy the equipment and our insurance companies pay for the testing?

otter

Dejaboo

This sounds Promising.

I wonder what the higher dose of Radiation (8-10 times higher) means for women who have the screening compared to a Mammo.

Pam

otter

Pam, I was wondering that, too.  It seems to be about the only drawback to the technique, so far, assuming that the current clinical trials continue to show that it works.  The higher level of radiation must be from the injection, since the gamma camera only detects radiation--it doesn't produce it, as far as I know.

I think this method is kind of like what they do when we get the radioisotope injection for a sentinel node biopsy--the radioactive material is technitium-99 (plus some other stuff), and the accumulation of the isotope in tissue is detected with a gamma camera.  In the case of the MBI, though, the material is injected i.v., so it travels throughout the body.

That's about all I know about it, though.

otter 

OrliNaaman

I was part of a test about 3 months ago (before it was all found to be positive and I hit the 'fast zone') where they scanned my breast with a heat sencing camera and the cancer shows up as giving off different amount of heat.  Nothing was injected and I'm hoping that it really proves as accurate as it was seeming to.

sausgirl

Wow,

I didn't see this and I find it fascinating.When I was dx'ed I was also dx'ed with a parathyroid adenoma.The way they detect that is by a sestamibi injection then scan of the throat! Geez who knew they could have been pointing just a little south and to the left!

Great news! Thanks for the link!

Jan

otter

Hey, all--

I just started a new thread with this topic:  "Is Molecular Breast Imaging = Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging?".  It's over on the "Just Diagnosed" section....I probably should have put it here, but it was a close call.

This thread (here) is about "MBI".  There is another thread on the boards about "BSGI".  I can't figure out if those techniques are the same thing under different names, or if there really are important differences. 

If anyone knows or has some ideas (or knows where the techniques are being used, besides Mayo), please stop by the new thread under "Just Diagnosed" and offer some speculation.

otter