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| |  Breast Gamma Imaging Suggested for Cancer Detection: Presented at RSNA By Ed Susman CHICAGO -- December 4, 2009 -- Researchers suggested that breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) could play a role in detecting cancer by assessing cell metabolism, as opposed to mammography and ultrasound, which detect anatomical abnormalities. In a poster presentation here at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 95th Annual Meeting, researchers reviewed studies performed with gamma imaging for detection of breast cancer and determined that the modality appears to be comparable to other methods. “Breast-specific gamma imaging is a potentially powerful modality for improving breast cancer detection which will likely be integrated into clinical practice as a complementary breast imaging tool once the technology for direct biopsy using breast-specific gamma imaging is developed,” said Marina I. Feldman, MD, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, in her presentation on December 3. She said that gamma imaging may be well suited for detection of breast abnormalities among women with dense breast tissue, especially among high-risk patients for whom mammography is limited or magnetic resonance imaging is either not possible or contraindicated. Researchers examined records of 97 patients who underwent 105 BSGI studies. Using the device, 54 studies involving 72 lesions were identified as positive. Pathology proved that 42 of the lesions were malignant and 27 were benign. Pathology follow-up is pending in 3 cases. Dr. Feldman said that in 51 studies, the device suggested the lesions were benign. Pathology identified 49 of those lesions as benign; 2 were malignant. “Our false-positive rate of 47.5% is comparable to that reported in the literature,” she said. False positives were later identified as fibrocystic changes, sclerosing adenosis, fibro-oedema, atypical ductal hyperplasia, fat necrosis, haematoma, or prominent dilated ducts. In the protocol used at Maimonides Medical Center, technetium-sestamibi is injected into the hand. Bilateral imaging is conducted 5 minutes after the injection using a Dilon 6800 Breast Imaging Camera. Because there are no commercially available systems to acquire tissue with the system, Maimonides Medical Center has been relying on various methods for biopsies, Dr. Feldman said. A commercial system is under review by the US Food and Drug Administration, she said. [Presentation title: The Role for Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging: Experience of a Community Medical Center. Abstract LL-BR5202]
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