Dear Women's Imaging Insider,
Happy New Year! The year is off to an optimistic start for women's imaging.
First up, a new study out of Denmark shows not only does breast cancer screening work, but the research also refutes controversy surrounding the program. To characterize the program as not reducing breast cancer mortality and causing significant overdiagnosis is to misunderstand the program, according to the researchers. Learn more.
Also in your Women's Imaging Community regarding breast cancer screening, Spanish researchers are encouraging clinicians to rethink the way they conduct breast screening protocols. They found single-reading digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) plus synthesized 2D mammography increased cancer detection and decreased recalls compared with double-reading standard mammography. Plus, standard mammography did not improve results when added to DBT. Read more.
Speaking of mammograms, did you know that women who have had a false-positive mammogram have triple the risk of interval cancer later on? Norwegian researchers found a threefold higher rate of interval breast cancer among women with a previous false-positive screening compared with those with a previous negative screening in their last biennial screening round.
Three-dimensional printing is taking off in the medical imaging world, and women's imaging is no exception. Dutch researchers developed a 3D-printed robot-guided device capable of facilitating MR-guided breast biopsy and improving the accuracy of breast cancer diagnosis. Biopsies can even be performed inside the MRI system. Click here to read more.
In other 3D news, 3D diffusion-tensor MRI (DT-MRI) examinations of the cervix may have discovered at least one reason why some pregnant women miscarry or go into labor prematurely. The U.K. researchers used 3D DTI-MRI to view fibers in the cervix that help maintain its structure and prevent a fetus from descending into the birth canal before the due date.
Be sure to head on over to the Women's Imaging Community to scope out other stories that will interest you. And as always, I enjoy hearing from you, so contact me anytime.
