Few areas of medical imaging are as active in development of new technologies and refinements of established techniques as the field of breast imaging for detection, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

With 30 million screening radiographic mammograms performed annually in the United States, this facet of breast imaging serves as the portal to detect lesions that often require further scrutiny.

Barbara Monsees, M.D., chief of breast imaging at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and professor in the department of radiology at Washington University (St. Louis, Mo.), explains that while controversy rages in the popular and scientific press about the effectiveness of screening mammograms, she and most of her colleagues in the breast imaging community continue to believe that screening mammography saves lives.

“Studies from Sweden have shown that population-based mammography screening has substantially reduced the death rate from breast cancer,” Monsees says.

Monsees, who also serves as president of the Society of Breast Imaging, says that “mammography remains the best technology available for the detection of breast cancer. Mammography, along with adjunctive imaging techniques, such as ultrasound, also plays a crucial role in evaluation of detected abnormalities.”

She adds that there are problems with interpretive variability, and that those professionals who are more experienced in reading mammograms probably perform better than casual readers. Additional education should continue to improve care and outcomes. She also cautions that there are looming workforce issues, with need for additional breast imagers and radiologic technologists who work in this field.

New applications for current modalities and innovative approaches to imaging hold promise. However, Monsees notes that although there is always room for additional instruments, they must be scientifically evaluated to determine their role.

From a market trend perspective, Shara Rosen, author of “The World Wide Market of Cancer Diagnostics,” to be published this fall by Kalorama Information, (New York, N.Y.), a division of MarketResearch.com (New York, N.Y.), expects that while some new systems show promise in their ability to discriminate between malignant and benign lesions, she believes they will serve as adjunct technologies rather than a replacement for the screening function of radiographic mammography.

Please refer to the November 2002 issue for the complete story. For information on article reprints, contact Martin St. Denis