Molecular Breast Imaging Proves Cost-Effective for Presurgical Planning in Patients with Bre...( CHICAGO Dec. 1 /- Breast-Specific Gam...),Health

CHICAGO, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI), a molecular breast imaging technique that is substantially less expensive than breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with comparable sensitivity for detecting breast carcinoma when used in presurgical planning for patients with known cancer diagnoses, according to findings presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

"According to the national Medicare average, BSGI costs $219.43 compared to $994.43 for breast MRI. Since BSGI has some advantages over MRI, including higher patient tolerance and significant cost savings, BSGI should be considered an alternative for preoperative planning in patients with breast carcinoma," said Dr. Margaret Bertrand, Director of Breast Imaging at Solis Bertrand Breast Center in Greensboro, N.C.

In this study, BSGI was performed prior to needle biopsy on 63 patients with 64 breast malignancies who subsequently had a post-biopsy, preoperative breast MRI for surgical planning in accordance with the ACS guidelines. Of the 64 malignancies, BSGI and MRI were positive in 61 and 62 lesions, respectively. BSGI and MRI were comparable in sensitivity for breast carcinoma, 95 percent and 97 percent respectively. Unlike MRI, BSGI was tolerated by all patients.

BSGI for the study was conducted using a Dilon 6800 Gamma Camera, a high-resolution, small field-of-view gamma camera, optimized to perform BSGI. BSGI is a molecular breast imaging technique that can see lesions independent of tissue density and discover very early stage cancers. With BSGI, the patient receives a pharmaceutical tracing agent that is absorbed by all the cells in the body. Due to their increased rate of metabolic activity, cancerous cells in the breast absorb a greater amount of the tracing agent than the normal surrounding tissue and generally appear as "hot spots" on the BSGI image.