In this Innovate UK funded project (project #: 104296), Kromek are working in collaboration with Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (NuTH) who are undertaking care pathway analysis and qualitative research to understand the problem of dense breasts within breast cancer screening in the UK.
Breast screening using mammography has relatively low sensitivity to cancer in dense breast tissue (Kolb et al., 2002, Rosenberg et al., 1998). A small number of retrospective studies have shown a potential alternative, nuclear medicine test Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI), to have a higher sensitivity in this group (Kim et al., 2012, Rhodes et al., 2015), but the technology is not currently available in the UK. Perceptions of MBI among UK stakeholders (including patients, radiologists, technologists, and regulatory bodies) are unknown and are key to understanding the value of, and route to, adoption.
Results from NuTH early phase research is currently live on the ePoster stack at the online 2021 Symposium Mammographicum conference here.
The conference aims to play a leading national and international role in advancing technological and clinical sciences related to breast imaging.
References
KIM, B. S., MOON, B. I. & CHA, E. S. 2012. A comparative study of breast-specific gamma imaging with the conventional imaging modality in breast cancer patients with dense breasts. Ann Nucl Med, 26, 823-9.
KOLB, T. M., LICHY, J. & NEWHOUSE, J. H. 2002. Comparison of the Performance of Screening Mammography, Physical Examination, and Breast US and Evaluation of Factors that Influence Them: An Analysis of 27,825 Patient Evaluations. Radiology, 225, 165-175.
RHODES, D. J., HRUSKA, C. B., CONNERS, A. L., TORTORELLI, C. L., MAXWELL, R. W., JONES, K. N., TOLEDANO, A. Y. & O’CONNOR, M. K. 2015. Molecular breast imaging at reduced radiation dose for supplemental screening in mammographically dense breasts. American Journal of Roentgenology, 204, 241-251.
ROSENBERG, R. D., HUNT, W. C., WILLIAMSON, M. R., GILLILAND, F. D., WIEST, P. W., KELSEY, C. A., KEY, C. R. & LINVER, M. N. 1998. Effects of age, breast density, ethnicity, and estrogen replacement therapy on screening mammographic sensitivity and cancer stage at diagnosis: review of 183,134 screening mammograms in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Radiology, 209, 511-8.
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