:::: TECHNOLOGY : NEWS :.

THE PACIFIC BREAST CENTER POISED FOR ADVANCED BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSIS:
New imaging device means quicker answers and possibly better outcomes for patients

The Pacific Breast Center is one of the first facilities in the Northwest to acquire an exciting new technologically advanced tool for breast cancer detection – Breast Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI) with the Dilon 6800. BSGI has been clinically proven to provide clearer and more concise images for women with questionable mammograms, helping the breast imaging radiologist provide more accurate results and quicker answers than with many other types of diagnostic tests.

A lesion within dense glandular tissue was difficult to see mammo-graphically, but was easily identified with BSGI.

X-ray mammography is still the first-line screening tool for breast cancer, but there are those challenging cases where mammography raises as many questions as it provides answers. Mammography primarily measures differences in tissue density, but because dense tissue and cancers often display as the same density and structure on a mammogram, it may be difficult to locate masses. BSGI is not affected by tissue density. When further evaluation is needed, BSGI helps the radiologist determine if an area of concern is cancerous or not; and is especially useful for patients who have dense breasts, lesions (lumps) that can be felt but not seen with mammography or ultrasound and where scar tissue or implants may be masking an early breast cancer.

Working on a cellular or molecular level, BSGI provides the needed capability to help differentiate cancer from other structures or benign (non-cancerous) tissue in the breast. BSGI can help detect cancers at very early stages allowing for optimal intervention and treatment. BSGI has the potential to significantly reduce the number of invasive biopsies that result in negative findings (no cancer present) for thousands of women annually.

When patients have diagnostic breast imaging studies performed at the Pacific Breast Center they learn of the results from the radiologist immediately after the studies are completed, avoiding the lengthy wait for results or scheduling appropriate management.

Also see;

• BSGI Proceedures
• Detection of Breast Cancer F.A.Q.