Mayo Clinic improves breast screening capability

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Mayo Clinic's ability to find and diagnose breast cancer has increased with the addition of two new digital mammography machines, the most cutting-edge screening and detection technology available for some women.

While more Americans are being diagnosed with breast cancer each year, the death toll has been dropping due to earlier detection and improvements in treatment, according to the American Cancer Society. These digital mammography machines, one - a gift from The RITA (Research is the Answer) Foundation, are a valuable addition for Mayo's Breast Clinic program.

An advance in the field of screening and diagnosing breast cancer, digital mammograms are proving to have their niche. "A large trial published in 2005 found digital mammograms have increased accuracy in three categories of patients," says Dr. Elizabeth DePeri, a radiologist in Mayo's Breast Clinic.

When compared to film mammography, digital mammography best helps those who:

• Are younger than 50 years of age
  
• Have dense or extremely dense breast tissue
  
• Are pre- or perimenopausal

"While images obtained by traditional film mammography units are still widely used and have equal sensitivity, digital images afford image manipulation that lends assistance to the radiologist in the interpretation of the image," says Dr. DePeri.

Digital mammography has other advantages over film mammography, in that electronic images of the breast can be easily stored, transmitted and enhanced. "Since an image can be manipulated to be seen at its best, we reduce the need to repeat some images," adds Dr. DePeri. Also, digital units produce images faster than standard units can develop film. The enhancing feature and faster image production allow technologists to perform more exams in the same amount of time, which increases the availability of appointments.

While digital mammography studies to date have shown no apparent benefit to film for other groups of patients, radiologists may use their discretion and proceed in offering the new technology. These groups include women who are older than 50, don't have dense or extremely dense breast tissue and are not still menstruating, and were revealed by the Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST). DMIST was a study conducted by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network, a cooperative group sponsored by the National Cancer Institute.

The study also showed that more widespread use of digital mammography may be hindered by its cost, as digital systems currently cost about 1.5 to 4 times more than film systems. "It will likely take five to 10 years for all mammography in the United States to be performed digitally, due to this cost and the complexity of conversion," adds Dr. DePeri.

Mammography is an X-ray test used to screen, detect and track breast changes and abnormalities. American Cancer Society guidelines recommended that women age 40 and older have screening mammograms every year. Women in their 20s or 30s should have a clinical breast exam every three years, and have one annually if she's 40 or older. With self examination starting in their 20s, women should report any breast changes to their doctor. Women with a high risk of breast cancer may benefit by beginning screening mammograms and should discuss this and other screening options with their doctor. Other imaging tools include ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and mammographic, ultrasound or MR image-guidance for non-surgical biopsies.

Founded in 1997, the RITA Foundation is a local, all-volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to raising money and awareness for all cancer diseases, emphasizing breast cancer research, awareness, education and patient programs. "RITA is proud to have supported the breast cancer initiatives at Mayo Clinic since 2000," says Charles Jantz, RITA's founder and volunteer chairman. RITA's cash grants to Mayo Clinic have totaled $165,000. Included in this sum, Mayo Clinic also received this year a $25,000 commitment for mammography research. The new digital mammography unit, valued as a gift of $400,000, represents RITA's largest donation to Mayo Clinic, to date.

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To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. MayoClinic.com is available as a resource for your health stories.