Mammography Software may Reduce Number of Missed Breast Cancer Cases

One of Britain's leading biomedical scientists says, NHS can save hundreds of lives each year by adopting a computerised technique for breast cancer screening.

While speaking at the Royal Academy of Engineering in London, Professor Sir Michael Brady warned that relying on the judgment of radiologists meant that about 20 per cent of cancer cases were missed at the first screening.

Women With 'Probably Benign' Lesions Must Get Follow-Up Mammography Done
Radiologists can rule out immediate biopsy for women with probably benign breast lesions and instead recommend a six-month follow-up diagnostic mammogram, says a new study.

Sir Michael, who has spent 20 years developing mammography software, gave his address at the ceremony in London at which he was awarded the Sir Frank Whittle Medal - one of Britain's most prestigious engineering prizes.

"Mammograms are notoriously difficult to interpret, even experienced radiologists evaluate scans differently, so automating the system would make the process much more reliable," Times Online quoted him as saying.

Above the age of 50, when most women become eligible for the NHS screening programme, dense milk-producing tissue is gradually replaced with lighter fatty tissue.

Reminder Program Improves Mammography Rates
According to a study, a reminder program aimed at screening for breast cancer when it is most treatable boosted mammography rates by more than 17 percentage points.

Previous studies have shown that women who retain a higher percentage of dense tissue are at significantly greater risk of breast cancer, but measuring this by eye is difficult.

About 20 per cent of cancer cases are missed and 80 per cent of those recalled for a biopsy are healthy.

Does Adding Clinical Breast Examination To Mammography Improve Breast Screening Accuracy?
A study says breast cancer detection rates and sensitivity were higher, but so were false-positive rates, among mammography centers that offered clinical breast examination in addition to mammography.

In one study, two experienced radiographers were asked to examine identical images and estimate the percentage of dense tissue.

One estimated the figure at 25 per cent, while the other gave a 40 per cent estimate.

Using Digital Mammography Leads to Increased Cancer Detection Rates
Researchers found that the use of digital mammography equipment alone is responsible for an increased number of breast cancers detected at a community-based mammography facility.

Sir Michael argues that his software, called Volpara, could reduce these figures dramatically.

A clinical trial of 2,500 women in the US, the Netherlands and New Zealand, showed that Volpara reduced the number of cases missed to 5 per cent.

Source-ANI
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