Warning on Australian clinics offering safe alternatives to mammograms

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDSep 20 2010

Experts have warned that some private clinics that are offering safe alternatives to mammograms as breast cancer screening are doing more harm than good. It is seen that clinics offering services like botox, liposuction and spray tans are increasingly providing breast cancer screening that uses thermal imaging and “electrical impedance” technology. These methods are being used on women as young as 20, with claims they can detect cancer years earlier than mammograms.

Experts say that there is not scientific basis to these claims and those offering the tests often have little medical training. In most of these cases no doctor's referral is required and there are concerns that potentially life-threatening cancers could go undetected.

According to education and research director with the Cancer Council WA, Terry Slevin these clinics are commercially driven. He said, “There's a prospect of women becoming very confused about what is or isn't proven, valid, scientifically rigorous breast cancer screening and I worry that that will lead to some women being diagnosed with breast cancer at a much more advanced, dangerous stage than might have otherwise been the case if they'd used more reliable technologies.”

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has already removed two screening devices from its list of registered medical goods to stop these unsubstantiated claims. Two other companies are under the scanner. A spokeswoman said mammography was the only breast examination technique that had been supported by objective, randomized clinical trials.

According to the Cancer Council and the Australian Medical Association this form of aggressive advertising is wrong and has written to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) asking them to also take action against clinics.

For a mammogram the breast is compressed between two plates and an X-ray taken. A thermogram on the other hand does not require contact with the imaging machine.

On Sunday, October 3, 2010 thousands of women will gather at the DCR Hatch Memorial Shell on the Charles River Esplanade for a five-mile walk to save lives from breast cancer. 40,000 participants last year helped to raise $3,000,000. There are hopes to surpass that this year. According to the American Cancer Society, Breast Cancer is the most common Cancer among woman, other than skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in woman, after lung cancer. “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” is the American Cancer Society's theme for its walk to end breast cancer. 

Regular screening with yearly mammograms beginning at the age of 40 is recommended. Starting at age 20, women should be doing monthly self-exams. The American Cancer Society also recommends the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) screening for women at increased risk for breast cancer.