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Friday, September 23, 2011

Testing your one breast

Logo of breast cancer

The hope of your breast:
Less painful treatment thrills women, but unless breast cancer is caught early, the promise is hollow. Mammography is still the yearly test of choice for women over 40. And scientists are working hard to develop refinements, replacements or add-ons.

Sharper Pictures:
 Digital mammography uses X-rays but depends on sensitive digital receptors to record the image. The picture has more gradations between its bright and dark areas than a conventional mammogram does, says radiologist Daniel Sullivan, chief of the biomedical imaging program at the National cancer institute, so it offers more information. A direct comparison with standard mammography in 50,000 women is under way. 

        Two other imaging techniques also offer hope for better diagnoses: magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound. These are well known, but are only now being studied as potential breast cancer screening tools. One big advantage is that they easily “sea” through the dense breast tissue that can confound mammography.


Breast Cell Test:

                         Breast cancer
 
In three types of tests, doctors gather cells from breast ducts, where most breast cancers arise, and examine them for precancerous or cancerous cells. The tests offer early detection, but ductal lavage and micro-endoscope can’t be called noninvasive since a doctor must snake a hair-thin catheter into ducts to collect cells. Nipple fluid aspiration uses a device similar to a breast pump. Studies of the test are encouraging, but Sullivan worries that suspicious cells may be missed if it’s in an inaccessible duct.

Saliva Sample:

Researchers are investigating whether testing a woman’s saliva (or perhaps her blood ) can show whether she has breast cancer or maybe see if cells that are abnormal are threatening to become cancerous. The approach is based on the fact that all cells secrets chemicals and abnormal cells secrete different chemicals than normal cells do. Such a test is five to ten years away.     

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