Fw: ABC News Story on MAMMOGRAM

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From: " ilena rose " <ilena@...>

Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2001 10:01 PM

Subject: Ilena: please post this ABC News Story on MAMMOGRAM

ONESOMER@... wrote:

I have had several requests for this info......click on link for locations.

A new computer-aided detection device called the ImageChecker helps doctors

see tiny cancer spots in breasts. (ABCNEWS.com)

Second-Scan Mammograms Breast Cancer Screening Goes Digital N E W Y O R K,

Aug. 29 '

Hicks, a 46-year-old dental assistant, had no clue there was a new

device to detect breast cancer, until it found hers.

Researchers say the ImageChecker device, when used in conjunction with a

traditional mammogram, is the greatest technological leap in early breast

cancer detection in 20 years. The device helped spot Hicks' lesion when it

was 2 millimeters in radius. " The radiologist said 'You made me famous,

that's the smallest I ever found,' " said Hicks, who by pure chance had the

special mammogram done at a Columbia, S.C. clinic that is one of

<http://www.r2tech.com/sit/> about 200 sites offering the new technology.

The ImageChecker is a computer-aided detection device that detects almost

20 percent more breast cancers than normal mammography, according to a

study published in the September issue of Radiology. The study joins a

growing body of research that found the device spots breast cancer at a

much earlier stage, allowing doctors to intervene early. More Meticulous

than Human Eye Finding cancer spots is not always easy. " They are always

detectable by the naked eye, but some could be so small or subtle even the

best radiologist could overlook them, " study co-author Dr. Freer,

director of the Women's Diagnostic and Breast Health Center in Plano, Texas

told Good Morning America. " We've trained the computer to see things we

can't. It's more meticulous than a human could possibly be. It examines

every pixel of film and never gets tired. " Because she caught the cancer

early, Hicks underwent a lumpectomy to remove the cancerous lump, avoiding

chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

The device works in the following way: The X-ray from a regular mammogram

is fed into the processing unit, which converts it to a digital image

readable by a computer. The radiologist still looks at the actual mammogram

X-ray on a display unit, eyeballing it for any irregularities. But by

pressing a button on the display unit, the radiologist can view a digital

image of the mammogram on which suspicious areas scanned by the computer

have been marked. The computer sensitivity is set very high, so it makes a

lot of marks indicating possible cancer spots. The radiologist uses those

marks and goes back to the original mammogram to see if anything was

missed. Tag Teaming With MammogramsThe study, which included nearly 13,000

women, found a total of 49 cancers. If researchers had not used the new

device, they would have only detected 41, so they were alerted to an

additional eight. But, conversely, the ImageChecker missed nine lesions

that the radiologist saw. So the bottom line is that the radiologist and

the ImageChecker work best as a sort of tag team.

Together they detected 20 percent more cancers than if either had acted

alone. The eight cancers they did find with the new device were in the

early, easily curable stages, either stage 0 or stage 1. The prognosis for

such early stage cancer is excellent, and patients would usually undergo

minimal surgery, such as a lumpectomy 'Äî the removal of the tumor itself.

Equipment Hard to Find If they have the computer-aided detection device,

radiologists use it automatically, regardless of the outcome of the initial

mammogram, because they know there is a better chance of catching

everything if they do, Freer said. But most breast cancer centers do not

have the computer-aided detection devices yet.

The majority of the 200 that do are located in the United States. Though

the FDA approved the device in 1998, some radiologists are unaware of it.

And some centers are reluctant to spend $200,000 to $220,000 on the devices

until more studies back its effectiveness. Most insurance companies do not

pay for the device, so patients might have to pay a small surcharge.

Medicare recently approved paying for the procedure. If possible, women

should seek out centers that have the devices, Freer said. And in general,

women should have mammograms each year after they turn 40, he said.By doing

so, they reduce their risk of dying from breast cancer by 63 percent.