Friday 11th March 2011; BreastHealth UK, a leading private breast cancer screening provider, is today featured in ‘Embarrassing Bodies’, the show that explores personal body issues and health problems.
The popular show on Channel 4, now in its 4th series, tackles a range of medical problems and proves there’s nothing to be embarrassed about when it comes to your body. Tonight’s episode raised awareness of breast cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women under 35 in the UK, and the importance of early detection and diagnosis.
Viewers saw Dr Pixi McKenna undergo a Digital Infrared BreastScan (DIB) in of one BreastHealth UK’s clinics. Unlike mammography, this state of the art breast scan, is non-invasive, involves no compression and can be offered to women of any age. It is particularly effective for women under 50-years of age whose breasts may be too dense for a mammogram, and as it doesn’t involve any radiation, it can be performed on a 6 or 12-montly basis. The DIB uses an infra-red camera to detect ‘hot spots’ on the breast resulting from the increased metabolism and blood supply of cancerous cells – a characteristic of 86 percent of screen-detected and impalpable cancers. In a recent research study it has been shown to have a high sensitivity for detecting early breast cancer.
Managing Director of BreastHealth UK Troels Jordansen explains: “Although screening mammography has resulted in a 15–20% reduction in breast cancer mortality, it is not offered regularly to women under 50 due to the difficulty of imaging dense breast tissue and image interpretation. However, many women under 50 are worried about their breast health because a friend, colleague or family member has had breast cancer and they find it difficult to get access to quality breast advice and screening. We have seen a significant increase in the number of women seeking more comprehensive screening. With an expanding national network of private breast screening clinics and state of the art technology BreastHealth UK is ready to help women of all ages stay breast aware.”
Research conducted in 2010 at the Cambridge Breast Unit, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, showed that Digital Infrared BreastScan (DIB) in combination with standard mammography provides cancer detection sensitivity of 89%1. Published in the European Journal of Oncology Surgery, the data showed that a combination of DIB with mammography increased cancer detection rates in women less than 50 years of age, indicating that dual imaging is a potential way forward for breast cancer detection in this younger age group. The results showed that when the two technologies were used together that the sensitivity increased by 11% (89%) compared with mammography alone (78%).
Digital Infrared BreastScan was introduced into the UK by BreastHealth UK in 2008 and is used in combination with clinical breast examination and mammography. The state-of-the-art technology offers improved analysis of imaging data and promises improved cancer screening with minimal discomfort to the patient. The combined technology of Digital Infrared BreastScan and mammography is now available in the UK via the BreastHealth UK chain of private breast screening clinics.
References
1. Wishart GC, Campisi M, Boswell M, Chapman D, Shackleton V, Iddles S, Hallett A, Britton PD. The accuracy of digital infrared imaging for breast cancer detection in women undergoing breast biopsy. Eur J Surg Oncol (2010), doi:10.1016/j.ejso.2010.04.003.
