Stereotactic Breast Biopsy

Medical technology is advancing rapidly with each passing minute. It is becoming more urgent for health care facilities to invest in equipment that is current and state of the art. Behind these advancements are proven statistics that certain equipment is a necessity when diagnosing and treating patients. We, as health care workers, owe it to our patients to have the best possible equipment in our facilities. Aside from non-melanoma skin cancer, breast cancer has become the most common cancer among women in the United States. Breast cancer does not discriminate. It is one of the

Currently mammography and ultrasound are basic imaging techniques for detection and localization of breast tumor. Breast Ultrasound is a typically painless medical test that uses reflected sound waves for further evaluation of a breast abnormality or a specific area seen on mammography. Ultrasound can locate and measure abnormalities or changes to determine if a breast lump is solid or filled with fluid. A mammogram is an x-ray of the breast which may find tumors that are too small to feel. Women aged 40 to 74 years should have annual screening mammograms to lower chance of dying from breast cancer(2,15).Mammograms are less likely to find breast tumors in women younger than 50 years. This may

Mammograms are breast cancer screenings and are of great importance since they detect if indeed a malignant tumor is present and if so what stage it is in (Stephan, 2010). Cancers can be detected at stages I, II, or IIA (Haas et al., 2008).

The incidence rates of in situ breast cancer increased by 2.8% every year between 2005 and 2009.

Breast cancer is a disease in which most commonly occurs in all women no matter their size, shape, race, or ethnicity. About one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer every year, a fatal disease if not discovered early. Early detection of breast cancer is key so that cancerous cells found in the breast do not spread through other parts of the body. On a positive note, however, significant advances have been made in areas of reconstruction after a mastectomy. Breast cancer, the second leading cause of death in women, motivates many women to undergo screening every year and medical advances in 3D screening evolve regularly; though no cure has been

Over the past two decades, mammography has become the central tool used to detect cancerous regions within the breast. This evolution has been enabled by advancements in the technology itself and its implementation into healthcare regulations of numerous countries around the world (Pisano et al., 2004). In its beginning stages, breast cancer is a relatively treatable disease, and increased awareness for both mammograms and self-breast examinations have led to earlier diagnoses. Studies suggest that increases in mammography screenings have been one of the main reasons that breast

Assessing metastatic involvement of the lymph nodes in breast cancer patients is important in planning surgical and adjuvant therapies. A trend toward breast-conserving therapies with the goal of improving quality of life for breast cancer patients has driven the need to accurately assess lymph nodal staging. The concept of a sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is a valuable tool in evaluating metastatic spread of primary breast tumors (Maaskant-Braat et al.,2012; Noushi et al., 2013). Tokin et al. (2012) describe how the process of tumor spread via the lymphatics occurs to the first draining lymph node, then to subsequent nodes within the same basin and beyond. Breast lymphoscintigraphy has emerged as a useful means of identifying the SLN, although many patient factors, choice of radiopharmaceutical, injection technique, and imaging protocol may affect the successful outcome. The ideal exam protocol would combine speed, accuracy, and sensitivity to identifying the SLN with the least amount of burden to the patient and resources involved (Povoski et al., 2006; Sadeghi et al., 2009; Tokin et al., 2012).

Due to the new technology such as digital mammography and stereotactic devices, we are now able to perform minimally invasive needle localization breast biopsy's that are more accurate and less disfiguring to the patient's breast. This video went over the procedure, giving step-by-step instructions on how to perform this exam. It begins with a mammogram that demonstrated an abnormality.

Mammograms are used for screening purposes and for accurate diagnosis of breast cancer or diseases. Screening and diagnostic mammograms are the two types of mammograms. National Cancer Institute (2016) states, “Screening mammograms usually involve two or more x-ray pictures, or images, of each breast. Diagnostic mammograms can also be used to check for breast cancer after a lump or other sign or symptom of the disease has been found”. There are several issues concerning mammograms such as false-positive results. In addition, screening is an issue with individuals with breast implants. False- positive results is could be caused if the individual is taking hormonal therapy or have dense breast tissue. National Cancer Institute (2016) explains, “More than 50% of women screened annually for 10 years in the United States will experience a

Despina Kontos, the lab PI of the department of radiology at Penn along with her team, the CBIG (Computational Breast Imaging Group) is working on developing a research program that can assess and identify if a woman is at high risk of developing breast cancer by analyzing the breast density and parenchymal texture from digital breast images. The goal is to incorporate lengthy biomarkers of cancer risk information into better assessment of breast cancer risk for women. Despina believed that technology has helped cancer research in many ways, she said that technology has “made available imaging equipment that allow us to detect cancers at very early stages when they are easier to treat. In addition, technology has provided us with the ability to analyze a

Cancer is one of the most lethal diseases that greatly contributes to the death toll of millions people around the globe, especially breast cancer. However, as technologies are being modernized, humans took a major step forward in the battle against cancer by inventing mammography. In the past few years, mammograms helped save countless women’s lives, and consequently, it’s currently one of the leading research programs that attracts attention of many scientists.

Detection of breast cancer can be made at an early stage through screening. Screening refers to the various tests and examinations that are carried out on the breasts of a person to detect the disease at the earliest, even before the actual symptoms of the disease starts to show. Usually breast cancers that can be felt and detected are cancers that have grown larger in size and that which in usual cases has spread to regions outside the breast. The treatment in such cases is very complex. Breast cancers can be treated successfully if it is detected very early, and before the actual cancer symptoms starts to show.

In the last years, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has become a very popular method used for the early detection of breast cancer, because it has greater sensibility than mammography. But, opponents of MRI are concerned about this type of examination because of the belief that it may increase rates of mastectomy. However, different studies have been performed and no proof of this has been recorded (Dang and Zaguiyan et al 937). Although many people think that mastectomy may increase with MRI’s, I feel that these types of screenings should be more recommendable for women at high risk for breast cancer, because cancer, if not treated on time might be fatal.

Breast cancer will affect 1 in 8 women in the United States over their lifetime and about 1 in 1,000 in men. (BreastCancer.org 2016). This cancer affects women more than any other cancer, with the exception of lung cancer. Although these numbers have remarkably decreased in the last 20 years, it is still a threat today. Even with women preforming BSE, mammograms are vital in finding lumps when all other symptoms are not seen.

cancer. The use of film mammography can be very hard to recognize breast cancer in