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.

New blood test picks up early breast cancer

A new blood test has been developed by an international team of scientists which can detect the very early stage of breast cancer.

7 Aug 2006

Most Americans do not know when to get cancer screening tests

While most Americans know that mammograms, pap smears, and colonoscopies are screening exams for cancer, the majority of Americans do not know the appropriate age at which initiation of these tests is recommended.

3 Aug 2006

Computer-aided detection essential in preventing breast cancer

Computer-aided detection improves breast cancers in both screening and diagnostic patients according to a recent study done by a private practice radiologist in Santa Barbara, CA.

2 Aug 2006

Most women at high risk for breast cancer do not increase their life expectancy by taking the drug tamoxifen

Tamoxifen is an extraordinarily expensive cancer-prevention strategy, costing as much as $1.3 million per year of life saved.

24 Jul 2006

Digital mammography results in technologists' time savings but physician time loss

Digital mammography saves technologists' time, but increases physician time compared to film screen mammography, a new study shows.

18 Jul 2006

Breast cancer doesn't have to mean losing your breast

Research published in the July issue of The Breast Journal emphasizes that women who have breast implants and are diagnosed with breast cancer have the option of breast conservation, rather than just mastectomy.

18 Jul 2006

X-rays increase breast cancer risk

According to new research X-rays may significantly increase the risk of breast cancer in women who are genetically susceptible to the disease.

27 Jun 2006

New book shines light on mammography controversy

The subject of changing public advice over the years, mammography and the controversy over its use continue to cause confusion in the minds of many women.

13 Jun 2006

MRI cost-effective for some women at high-risk of breast cancer

A computer model simulation suggests that adding breast MRI screening may be cost-effective for women of certain ages who carry BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.

23 May 2006

No link found between statins and breast cancer

According to a new study by U.S. researchers, women who use statin drugs to lower their cholesterol are no more likely to develop breast cancer than women who do not use the drugs.

17 May 2006

New phase-contrast microscopy developed at PSI enhances X-ray images

Imaging techniques are increasingly at the forefront of progress in science and technology.

10 May 2006

Breast removal not the only treatment option for non-invasive breast cancer

Breast conserving surgery, long known to be successful at treating the more common invasive cancer, can also be effective for this pre-invasive condition, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

8 May 2006

Breast conserving surgery is a good option for early breast cancer

For women diagnosed with a type of non-invasive breast cancer, removing the breast is not the only treatment option.

8 May 2006

Selecting patients for breast conserving therapy: The importance of lobular histology

Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) of the breast can be treated with breast conserving surgery (BCT), as is invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), without greater future risk of radical surgical treatment or additional surgeries, according to a new study.

8 May 2006

Patients have high expectations about breast cancer screening mammography

A substantial proportion of women have beliefs about their personal risk of breast cancer, and expectations about the performance of mammography that are abnormally high or unrealistic, according to a survey conducted at University of Michigan Health Systems in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

4 May 2006

Breast cancer survivors turning their backs on recommended mammograms

A new study finds use of annual mammography among breast cancer survivors, who are at increased risk of a recurrence or a new malignancy in the other breast, dropped off after a few years. During the five year study period, only one in three women in this high-risk population had received regular annual mammograms.

24 Apr 2006

Significant differences in the patterns of mammography by race and ethnicity

Inadequate use of screening mammography may be an important reason that African-American women are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer than members of other ethnic groups, according to a new study led by a University of California, San Francisco imaging specialist.

18 Apr 2006