| Scientists from Clemson University are
developing an imaging system that uses laser technology to detect breast cancer without having to compress the breast.
Although the research is still preliminary, the scientists are encouraged by early
findings which show that their "optical tomographic imaging system" can
distinguish between cancerous and non-cancerous breast tumors. Further trials are expected
to begin soon, some of which will compare laser imaging to standard x-ray mammography and other supplemental breast exams, including ultrasound and magnetic resonance
imaging. The optical imaging
system works by emitting laser beams (infrared light) toward the breast at 16 different
points. Computer programs then reconstruct photon patterns of the breast into detailed
images. According to researcher Huabei Jiang, an assistant professor of physics at Clemson
University, and his team, it is possible to identify cancerous tumors with the technology
because blood vessels and other structures around these tumors absorb and scatter infrared
light from the laser differently than surrounding normal breast tissue.
In a preliminary trial of 10 women, the
scientists were able to detect five cancerous tumors and one non-cancerous tumor, all of
which were later confirmed with breast biopsy. According to
the researchers, some of the tumors were only five millimeters in diameter—so small
that standard screening mammography would not have been
able to detect them.
Clemson University employee Judy Link
participated in the first trial and received a benign (non-cancerous) diagnosis. "My
procedure was painless, and I tested negative—you can’t get better than
that," said Link in a Clemson news release. "I have friends who don’t get
mammograms because the procedure is uncomfortable for them. I’m glad another option
may eventually be available for them."
While early research is promising, Dr.
Jiang and his colleagues still have additional hurdles to overcome. One problem with the
laser technology is that light tends to scatter widely inside breast tissue, making it
difficult to pinpoint tumors. Dense breast tissue (often found in younger women) also
poses problems for optical imaging.
However, the Clemson researchers are
also developing a second laser imaging system that will use 64 laser points instead of 16
and will provide three-dimensional images of the breast. This new system will help
decrease the amount of time it takes to image a breast using laser technology, from
approximately 10 minutes per breast to around three minutes per breast. Another company,
Imaging Diagnostic System, Inc., has already developed a similar three-dimensional system
which is already being marketed in Europe and tested in clinical trials in the United
States.
Several upcoming clinical trials will
further investigate the effectiveness of laser imaging in helping to detect breast cancer.
Britton Chance, an optical imaging researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, plans to
compare laser imaging to mammography and other breast imaging techniques in a trial this
summer. Dr. Jiang and the Clemson researchers also plan to test their new
three-dimensional laser imaging system in a trial involving over 100 patients.
However, to become a practical
alternative or supplement to mammography, the researchers will have to show that the laser
technology can find cancers that mammography cannot. Currently, mammography is the only
exam approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help screen for breast
cancer in women who do not show any signs of the disease. Mammography detects
approximately 85% of all breast cancers, which better than any other breast imaging
technology available today.
Therefore, all women 40 years of age
and older should have yearly screening mammograms in addition to yearly
physician-performed clinical breast exams and
monthly breast self-exams. Women younger than 40 should
still receive clinical breast exams at least every three years and practice monthly breast
self-exams. Supplemental exams, such as breast ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging
(breast MRI) are FDA approved to further investigate breast abnormalities first detected
with screening mammography or physical exam.
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