Myth and truth about breast cancer

Is it true that the primary prevention of breast cancer does not exist? And half of surveys for which we tout ads for the diagnosis of breast disease has nothing to do?

- Many believe that the prevention of breast diseases sufficiently checked by a gynecologist or general practitioner ...
- Only mammologist - a specialist in the field of disease diagnosis was breast cancer, and not anything else! In order to determine pathology, must have expertise in this area of ​​medicine and a great experience. And it's not all: the right strategy diagnosis can also choose only mammologist.

- In advertising, every now and then hear a prompt to action on breast cancer screening with thermal imaging equipment, electronic briefcase, computer tomography. Should we trust them?
- Complete rubbish! About the first two places I generally keep quiet, but even the CT scanner, which is actually used for the diagnosis of many diseases, the diagnosis of pathological processes in the breast has nothing to do. Type of diagnostic mammologist chooses, identifying high risk women. First collected history, that is, find out the age, whether in the family disease of the breast and other individual characteristics. As a rule, up to 35 years is sufficient to palpation and ultrasonography. With horror, we hear that some women under 35 years referred for a mammogram - it makes no sense at this age! Send it, usually after 45 years of age is at risk. If by history likelihood of breast cancer is high, at our center, the only one in Kazan, making genetic analysis of an inherited cancer. The risk of cancer in these women is extremely high. Inherited cancer in our region is 3 - 4% of all malignant breast disease. It is clear that the tactics of diagnosis and prevention of these women have special parameters.

- Please tell us about the primary prevention of ...
- This does not exist! Primary prevention - something that can prevent cancer. But such methods modern science of radiology does not know! Advice on proper nutrition, avoidance of harmful habits, timely delivery and breast-feeding, of course, good and welcome. But to prevent occurrence of cancer, they can not. The main thing - to find the formation of tumors at an early stage. Then the recovery is guaranteed 100%. And the treatment itself in a less aggressive and traumatic than in the later stages. Therefore, the only prevention of breast cancer - secondary prevention. In other words, early treatment of mastitis, or benign tumors.

- Who is at risk?
- The first woman of 45 years. Second, the emergence of the disease affects estrogen (hormone), the load that a woman receives throughout life. That is, the more years of continued menstruation and late menopause, the greater the risk. Third, the presence of close who have had breast cancer. These are the main risk factors. Others - late delivery, non-breastfeeding, smoking and so on. If they can influence the occurrence of cancer, it is only in the complex. Their evidence is not proved.

What Does CT Software Do?

By Kathryn Dawson

Computed Tomography Scan, or a CT scan creates 3D images by processing many 2D X-ray images. This type of scan (or modality) is another method of scanning the body to help see problems, abnormalities and poor health for diagnosis and treatment. It is also sometimes known as a CAT scan. It is a simple and straightforward scan that is non-invasive and can therefore be delivered on an outpatient basis. In more detail, it involves the capturing of a series of X-ray views taken from many different angles within the body to produce many different images of the cross section of the bones and soft tissue in the body. It goes much further than an X-ray can by providing in-depth pictures of the organs, tissue, blood vessels and bones in the body. The 2D cross sectional images provided are then subjected to further processing by the software to provide clear 3D images for analysis. 

In a typical X-ray process, the body is subjected to a small dose of radiation, some of which gets absorbed by the body and then projected onto photographic film. In a CT scan however, many X-ray beams are exposed to the body, and X-ray detectors are used to measure the amount of radiation being absorbed. The person within the scanner will have the X-ray beam rotate around their body so it follows a spiral path. The multiple images taken of the body from this examination are then processed by specialist software to produce a 3D image of the body's interior. This image will then be processed by a radiologist and passed on to the relevant physician or group of physicians for further action and treatment of the patient. 

CT scans are often called upon for quick examination of a patient who has been in a serious accident where injuries could well be internal. Car accidents or other serious traumas for example can often result in internal bleeding or swelling in the brain that won't be immediately obvious and will need a CT scan to diagnose. It is possible for doctors to closely examine the brain using a computed topographical scan so any abnormalities or even very slight problems can be detected. Further to examining the brain, a CT scan is also ideal for revealing muscle and bone disorders including breaks and fractures, internal bleeding and other serious internal injuries, cancerous tumors, infections and blood clots as well as heart disease and other serious illnesses. CT scans can even be an assistance during surgeries, biopsies or radiation therapy treatment by working as a guide. 

The technology with regard to CT scans and software has progressed over the years and now this form of scanning is one of the most effective and efficient ways of examining the body from the inside, enabling doctors to see various cancers, abnormalities and internal health problems. Many serious illnesses and conditions do not have external symptoms for a long time, so CT scans enable them to be caught and treated much earlier than they otherwise would be. Medical imaging such as these types of scans make correct diagnosis easier for doctors too as the clear images provided leave little room for doubt when diagnosing an illness. 

CT software plays a crucial part in the field of medicine. Without being able to see the interior of the body a whole host of illnesses and problems would go undiagnosed. Doctors across many different fields use medical imaging solutions such as CT scans regularly and are often the basis of diagnosis of diagnosis of cancers and problems in the brain. A radiologist will initially process the information of a CT scan and will pass the information on to the physician treating the patient. In very interesting cases the data will be reviewed during a tumor board presentation for further action and treatment of the patient involved. There is more chance of successful treatment when an early diagnosis is made.

Imaging With Ionizing Radiation Common in Children - Doctors Lounge

The use of diagnostic imaging procedures with ionizing radiation appears to be common among children, according to a study published online Jan. 3 in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 5 (HealthDay News) -- The use of diagnostic imaging procedures with ionizing radiation appears to be common among children, according to a study published online Jan. 3 in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

In a retrospective cohort study, Adam L. Dorfman, M.D., of the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, and colleagues identified 355,088 individuals younger than 18 years of age who were continuously enrolled in UnitedHealthcare during Jan. 1, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2007.

The researchers found that 436,711 imaging procedures using ionizing radiation were performed in 150,930 individuals (42.5 percent). The highest rates of use of ionizing radiation occurred in children older than 10 years of age, with frequent use occurring in infants younger than 2 years. The investigators found that plain radiography accounted for 84.7 percent of imaging procedures, with computed tomography imaging accounting for 11.9 percent of all procedures. In addition, 7.9 percent of children received at least one computed tomography scan, and 3.5 percent underwent two or more scans.

"These results highlight the importance of generating data-based guidelines to aid clinicians in determining the appropriateness of performing imaging procedures in children," the authors write.

One author disclosed financial relationships with medical device and other companies; another author disclosed serving on the scientific advisory board for UnitedHealthcare.

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GE introduces wide-band wireless to avoid x-ray traffic jam - Diagnostic Imaging

Wireless x-ray detectors have come into vogue and are now available from a half dozen vendors. They are being offered singly, as a digital upgrade for analog x-ray systems, for example, or as the core of portable and advanced fixed radiography systems. GE Healthcare is among those offering a portfolio of such choices. But GE is putting a twist on its wireless detector, dubbed the FlashPad, one that company execs say will prevent what could be a ticklish problem in the future. This potential problem stems from the success of digital radiography.

In GE’s booth at RSNA 2010, GE executives Gerald P. Schulte and Catherine J. Tabaka likened the surge in wireless communications traffic at hospitals to congested highways surrounding big cities at rush hour. With the huge files they capture and transmit, wireless x-ray detectors are the equivalent of trucks that can reduce already slowing traffic to a crawl. GE’s solution, built into its FlashPad detector, is ultrawideband technology.

“This makes sure that a point-to-point communication allows easy, fast, secure, and reliable transfer of images,” said Tabaka, GE’s chief marketing officer for x-ray healthcare systems.

Ultrawideband technology uses a direct link between a wireless detector and receiver in much the same way a mouse talks directly to a PC. Keeping the communications connection simple and direct ensures the bandwidth necessary to transmit large files, such as x-ray images, she said, and to handle the large volumes of images at modern hospitals.

Schulte, GE’s global x-ray marketing manager, noted that nearly a decade has passed since GE introduced its first-generation digital x-ray products. Many of these, he said, are still in clinical operation as the company moves now to this fifth-generation detector. GE is positioning the wireless FlashPad as a component within a new breed of portable x-ray systems and advanced fixed x-ray rooms, and also as part of a kit for upgrading analog systems to digital.

The detector itself features a design that provides up to 8% more coverage for key applications yet minimizes radiation dose to the patient. It delivers radiographs onboard the company’s high-end Discovery XR656 fixed-room system and as the DR imaging option for GE’s Proteus XR/a and Precision 500D, as well as serving as the digital heart of the portable Optima XR220 amx and Optima XR200 amx, which is pending FDA review.

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Study reveals frequent pediatric rad exposure - Health Imaging & IT

The average child will be exposed to seven procedures using ionizing radiation before the age of 18, while nearly half of children receive a procedure with radiation in any given year, according to a study of more than 350,000 children published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

"To our knowledge, we report the first large, population-based study examining the use of diagnostic imaging procedures with low-dose ionizing radiation specifically in a pediatric population," wrote Adam L. Dorfman, MD, of the department of pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, and co-authors.

Dorfman and colleagues investigated the occurrence of procedures using radiation in 355,088 children enrolled in UnitedHealthcare from 2005 through 2007. The sample included all such enrollees residing in Arizona; Dallas, Texas; Orlando, Florida; south Florida; and Wisconsin, and included plain radiography procedures, CT, fluoroscopy and/or angiography and nuclear medicine scans.

"Among 355,088 children across five large health care markets in the U.S., we found that use of these procedures during a three-year study period was frequent, with at least one of these procedures being performed in 42.5 percent of children. Importantly, many children underwent more than one procedure," the researchers reported.

A total of 436,711 procedures using ionizing radiation were reported over the three-year study. Plain x-rays comprised the most common procedures, with 40 percent of children receiving at least one procedure during the study. Twenty-two percent of children received two or more radiography procedures and 14 percent received three or more.

CT was the second most common procedure, with 8 percent of children receiving at least one over the study period. Two percent of children received one or more fluoroscopy and/or angiography procedures and 1 percent received a nuclear medicine scan. Radiography accounted for a total of 85 percent of all procedures.

"Based on these data, the average child in this study population will have received more than seven procedures by the time he or she reaches age 18 years," Dorfman and colleagues wrote. Overall, male enrollees had higher rates of imaging than females, with 44 percent of boys and 41 percent of girls receiving at least one procedure using radiation. Children over ten years of age also had significantly higher imaging rates.

The authors expressed concern given the National Research Council's findings that any exposure to radiation poses at least some risk, while also citing studies indicating that risk increases linearly with greater exposure to radiation. "Developing tissues in children are more sensitive to radiation and their longer expected life spans also allow additional time for the emergence of detrimental effects," said co-author, Reza Fazel, MD, of the department of cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.

The authors made no attempts to judge the appropriateness of the procedures, however, while also abstaining from estimating radiation doses due to "a paucity of available data on radiation dosimetry in the pediatric population." They also cautioned that conducting the study in five states and considering only insured children might limit the generalizability of their findings.

"Of course, there is immense life-saving value in medical imaging, so our study doesn't suggest at all that these tests shouldn't be used in children," said co-author Kimberly E. Applegate, MD, vice chair for quality and safety in the department of radiology at Emory.

"It should encourage discussions about the value of each imaging test that is ordered, recognizing that radiation exposure, even in small amounts, may not be risk free," stated Andrew J. Einstein, MD, PhD, a cardiologist at Columbia University in New York City.

Last updated on January 5, 2011 at 9:24 am EST

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