Written by Donna C. Gregory —
This year, more than 232,000 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Fortunately, survival rates have been improving for nearly 25 years. That trend is expected to continue thanks to the following advances in finding and treating breast cancer.
A better mammogram
Women have a powerful new tool in breast cancer diagnosis. In January, Sentara Healthcare became the first Hampton Roads health provider to offer 3D mammography to its patients. The technology creates a three-dimensional image of the breast, allowing radiologists to view slices of tissue to find early cancer that otherwise could go undetected by regular 2D mammography.
A study published in the June 2013 issue of the “American Journal of Roentgenology” found that when compared with 2D mammography, the new 3D technology developed by Hologic, Inc. increased breast cancer detection rates by 35 percent and invasive cancer detection rates (the most serious form of breast cancer by 53 percent.
The study showed a 38 percent decrease in recall rates, meaning fewer women were called back for follow-up imaging. There was also an 11 percent drop in biopsy rates.
“The findings … demonstrate that Hologic 3D mammograms overcome many of the limitations of conventional mammography, namely missed cancers and unnecessary recalls,” says Peter Soltani, Hologic’s senior vice president and general manager of breast health. “The use of this groundbreaking technology when performing a screening exam allows radiologists to see distortions of the breast tissue in greater detail than with 2D mammography. This results in earlier detection of cancers when they are easier to treat and a reduction in false positives that may look worrisome on conventional digital mammography.”
Dr. Kelley Allison, co-medical director of Sentara’s Dorothy G. Hoefer Comprehensive Breast Center in Newport News, Va., says 3D mammography “is one of the biggest breakthroughs we’ve seen in breast cancer screening in 30 years. “It is allowing us to see cancers that we couldn’t have otherwise seen,” she continues. “By going through the breast layer by layer, that’s allowing us to get a much better view of the architecture of the breast, and we’re able to pick out those small breast cancers much more easily.”
As of Oct. 1, eight Sentara breast imaging centers in Hampton Roads will offer 3D mammography to patients. (Call 800-736-8272 for locations.)
Note: There may be a $50 out-of-pocket fee for 3D mammography since many insurance plans do not yet cover this new technology.
Another use for Viagra
The popular impotence drug, Viagra, may be good for more than saving men from embarrassment. It could potentially save women’s lives. For more than 40 years, doxorubicin— a powerful chemotherapy drug— has been used successfully to treat various cancers. But while it’s effective, doxorubicin also causes irreversible heart damage, which often shows up years after cancer treatment. At the VCU Massey Cancer Center in Richmond, Va., researchers are now studying to see if Viagra might block doxorubicin’s heart-damaging effects on breast cancer patients. Earlier laboratory tests suggest Viagra may also give a boost to doxorubicin’s cancer-fighting arsenal. The impotence drug has been shown to weaken the defense systems of breast cancer cells, allowing more doxorubicin to infiltrate—and ultimately kill—tumors.
“We think this effect may be pretty useful [in the treatment of cancer],” says Dr. Andrew Poklepovic, hematologist-oncologist and assistant professor of internal medicine at VCU Massey Cancer Center. “If this [trial] looks positive, then we would go forward with a very large trial with multiple centers using [Viagra] as an adjuvant for survivorship both in beating the disease and living a more positive lifestyle afterwards.”
VCU is actively recruiting breast cancer patients for the Viagra/doxorubicin study. For more information, visit www.masseytrials.com, or call (804) 628-4712.
Precision counts
VCU’s new TrueBeam linear accelerator brings a new level of precision and speed to radiation therapy, leading to shortened treatment times and fewer side effects for breast cancer patients. This advanced machine uses image-guided technology and higher dosage rates to more accurately target cancerous tumors.
“Physicians can monitor and adapt to changes in the patient’s anatomy caused by the radiation therapy to personalize treatment plans based on each patient’s unique physiology,” reads a VCU press release. “The optical camera system even allows physicians to see patient motion during treatments, so they can monitor and adjust as needed.” That means radiation can be more precisely directed to the tumor’s location, sparing nearby healthy tissue.
TrueBeam also delivers higher doses of radiation than other linear accelerators, shortening a 10-minute treatment down to two or three minutes.
“Historically, physicians treated patients as if no physiological changes occur throughout the course of the radiation treatments,” says Dr. Jatinder Palta, chief physicist with VCU Massey Cancer Center’s Department of Radiation Oncology. “We know this is not the case, and now advanced image-guided radiation therapy using equipment such as TrueBeam potentially opens a lot of possibilities for improving patient outcomes by personalizing treatment plans.”
