New Methods to Detect Breast Cancer Show Promise

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New tests that measure water, oxygen and other

breast tissue properties could be more effective than mammograms in

diagnosing breast cancer, scientists said on Monday.

Researchers at Dartmouth Medical School used several types of

electromagnetic waves to also gauge how normal breast tissue absorbed

or scattered light.

By first measuring healthy breasts, the new techniques can eventually

help researchers better understand and detect changes that could

signal cancer, said the study's lead author, Poplack.

" It's very important to know what normal is before you can begin to

characterize what abnormal is, " Poplack, a radiology professor at

Hanover, New Hampshire-based Dartmouth, said in an interview.

The three types of energy waves tested included infrared light,

microwaves and low-level electrical currents, according to the study

published in the May issue of the journal Radiology.

Mammograms, the standard test for breast abnormalities, use X-rays to

take pictures of breast tissue.

Experts say mammograms do not work as well on dense breasts and can

make it easy for doctors to miss very early-stage cancer in some

women. Mammograms can also fail to distinguish between cancerous

tumors and other thick matter, raising the risk of false positives,

they say.

The new techniques measured normal tissue levels of oxygen and

hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood. Breast cancer tissue

is " more active " Poplack said, and uses more oxygen and blood to

survive.

Scientists also measured cell membrane structure and the tissue's

ability to conduct and store electrical charges.

Poplack's team used the alternative technologies on 23 white women

ages 40 to 79 who had a history of normal mammograms, the study said.

The five-year, $7 million study funded by the National Institutes of

Health (news - web sites)'s National Cancer Institute (news - web

sites) is part of a larger effort to find alternative ways to create

images of the breast, principal investigator sen said.

The researchers, who are seeking another $10 million in National

Cancer Institute grants, are working on a second study using the new

techniques on women who have had abnormal mammograms.

Poplack said another 5 years of intensive study was needed before

broader studies could be done with more women, including those of

different races. Commercial versions of the tests are at least 10

years away, he said.

Barbara Croft, head of the cancer institute's Cancer Imaging Program,

said there was " a big need " to find alternative ways to look inside

the breast.

A number of breast cancer groups also said the limitations of

mammogram technology can lead to unnecessary biopsies and missed

cases of breast cancer.

" We tend to overdiagnose or overtreat women because it is just not

very specific, " said National Breast Cancer (news - web sites)

Coalition Vice President Carolina Hinestrosa, who was diagnosed with

the disease in 1996. " Clearly we could do better. "

" Any test that is easier, more available, less invasive (and) more

comfortable would always be welcome, " said Braun, president and

CEO of the G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

But until new methods are perfected, women should check their breasts

themselves each month and continue to get annual mammograms. " It is

certainly the best available screening tool, " Braun said.