Mammography News and Research

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A mammogram is a safe test used to look for any problems with a woman's breasts. The test uses a special, low-dose x-ray machine to take pictures of both breasts. The results are recorded on x-ray film or directly onto a computer for a radiologist to examine.

Mammograms allow the doctor to have a closer look for breast lumps and changes in breast tissue. They can show small lumps or growths that a doctor or woman may not be able to feel when doing a clinical breast exam. "Mammography" is the best screening tool that doctors have for finding breast cancer.

If a lump is found, your doctor may order other tests, such as ultrasound or a biopsy--a test where a small amount of tissue is taken from the lump and area around the lump. The tissue is sent to a lab to look for cancer or changes that may mean cancer is likely to develop. Breast lumps or growths can be benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancer). Finding breast cancer early means that a woman has a better chance of surviving the disease. There are also more choices for treatment when breast cancer is found early.

Actavis receives FDA approval to market NATRELLE INSPIRA round gel-filled textured breast implants

Actavis plc, which recently completed the acquisition of Allergan, Inc., today announced that the company has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market NATRELLE INSPIRA round gel-filled textured breast implants, offering women undergoing reconstruction, augmentation or revision surgery another breast shaping option for a customized result.

5 Jun 2015

Researchers call for improving screening accuracy to reduce false-positive mammograms

The psychological strain of being told that you may have breast cancer may be severe, even if it turns out later to be a false alarm. This is the finding of new research from the University of Copenhagen, which has just been published in the scientific journal Annals of Family Medicine.

28 May 2015

Many U.S. adults not undergoing recommended screenings for colorectal, breast and cervical cancers

Many adults in the U.S. are not getting the recommended screening tests for colorectal, breast and cervical cancers, according to data published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. For 2013, screening for these types of cancers either fell behind previous rates or showed no improvement.

7 May 2015

Tomosynthesis detects more breast cancers compared to traditional mammography

Tomosynthesis detects 40% more breast cancers than traditional mammography does, according to a major screening study from Lund University, Sweden. This is the first large-scale study to compare the screening method with regular mammograms. The 3D X-ray technique is also more comfortable for women, as breast compression is halved.

6 May 2015

UC Davis professor awarded $2.88 million NCI grant for breast CT research and development

John M. Boone, a UC Davis medical physicist and professor of radiology, has been awarded a $2.88 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to further develop and research computed tomography (CT) to detect breast cancer.

30 Apr 2015

Ikonopedia's breast imaging reporting tools, MQSA management system selected for use by BelleBridge

Ikonopedia announced today that its breast imaging reporting tools and MQSA management system have been selected for use by BelleBridge, which provides telemedicine services for interpretations of breast screening and diagnostic examinations.

27 Apr 2015

Nonprofit group launches website that provides education, information about breast density

Recognizing that both women and their doctors are often confused after a mammogram reveals the woman has dense breasts, a nonprofit organization has launched a major new educational website. The site, www.DenseBreast-info.org, addresses questions women and their healthcare providers often have about breast density - helping them to "Get Smart about Being Dense."

22 Apr 2015

New metabolic blood profile method could help predict breast cancer

According to the World Health Organization, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women both in the developed and less developed world, and in the long term the scientists hope that the new method will lead to better prevention and early treatment of the disease.

16 Apr 2015

Around 90% of all breast cancers can be diagnosed using MRI, shows study

Around 90 per cent of all breast cancers can be definitively diagnosed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This compares to the combined methods of mammography and ultrasound which yielded a detection rate of just 37.5 per cent.

7 Apr 2015

Existing drugs could help prevent deadly familial stomach and lobular breast cancers

Deadly familial stomach and lobular breast cancers could be successfully treated at their earliest stages, or even prevented, by existing drugs that have been newly identified by cancer genetics researchers at New Zealand's University of Otago.

23 Mar 2015

Women diagnosed with DCIS or atypia should seek second opinions, says study

While doctors almost always agree on a pathological diagnosis of invasive breast cancer, there is room for improvement when diagnosing atypia (or atypical ductal hyperplasia-ADH) and DCIS (ductal carcinoma in-situ), Anna Tosteson, ScD and Tracy Onega, PhD from Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Norris Cotton Cancer Center have found.

23 Mar 2015

Philips, UC Irvine partner to explore effectiveness of spectral imaging in breast density measurement

Royal Philips today announced its collaboration with the University of California, Irvine, to explore how spectral breast imaging can improve breast density measurement, potentially aiding clinicians in more accurately gauging breast cancer risks and monitoring changes over time.

5 Mar 2015

Majority of women support idea of more frequent breast screening for individuals at higher risk of cancer

Most women (85 per cent) would back the idea of more frequent breast screening if they are at higher genetic risk of developing breast cancer, according to research published today by The Breast.

20 Feb 2015

Women who understand risks associated with mammography screening make better screening choices

Women who understand the risk of over-detection and over-diagnosis associated with mammography screening have lower intentions to have a breast screening test, according to a new Lancet study.

18 Feb 2015

Breast density laws could pose risk of unnecessary procedures for women with breast cancer

Women with dense breast tissue are at increased risk of breast cancer. Dense breast tissue, generally defined as having more fibroglandular than fatty tissue, can make it more difficult for radiologists to detect cancer on screening mammography.

16 Feb 2015

Novel image-analysis technique improves breast cancer detection and diagnosis

Researchers at the University of Oklahoma have developed an image-analysis technique that is designed to improve breast cancer detection and diagnosis.

13 Feb 2015

Study findings help improve lung cancer screening guidelines

A set of guidelines developed to help standardized lung cancer screening would have generated considerably fewer false-positives than the National Lung Screening Trial produced, according to a new retrospective study.

10 Feb 2015

ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group opens clinical trial for women with newly diagnosed DCIS

In direct response to recommendations made by a National Institutes of Health scientific consensus panel, the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group announced today the opening of E4112, a clinical trial for women with newly diagnosed ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast who, together with their doctors, will use the results of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam to determine whether to undergo a lumpectomy or a mastectomy.

6 Feb 2015

Primary care physicians unfamiliar with California breast density law, shows UC Davis study

Ten months after California legislators enacted a controversial law mandating that radiologists notify women if they have dense breast tissue, UC Davis researchers have found that half of primary care physicians are still unfamiliar with the law and many don't feel comfortable answering breast density-related questions from patients.

28 Jan 2015

New imaging technique increases detection rates of invasive breast cancers

A new breast imaging technique pioneered at Mayo Clinic nearly quadruples detection rates of invasive breast cancers in women with dense breast tissue, according to the results of a major study published this week in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

24 Jan 2015