( Scientists linked with Harvard Medical ...)Detection of Malignant Breast Tumors Made Simpler and More Effective,Health

Scientists linked with Harvard Medical School claim the discovery of a simpler method to distinguish benign breast tumors from malignant ones.//

Harvard’s Kumar R. Bhushan, Ph.D., who led the chemistry group that participated in the research, described details of the new technique today at the 233rd national meeting of the American Chemical society, the world’s largest scientific society.

When used with a non-invasive imaging method that relies on harmless light instead of X-rays, the contrast agent could help doctors diagnose disease within minutes and determine where biopsies are needed.

“Because this agent is highly selective in targeting the product of malignant tumors, this approach may prove most useful for monitoring women who have dense breast tissue, or those who are at a higher-than-average risk for developing a malignant breast tumor,” Frangioni says.

For screening applications, the new technique most likely would be used to supplement, not replace, mammography, according to Frangioni. But the two methods used together, he says, may potentially catch more cancers than mammography alone.

Mammography is still considered the “gold standard” for early detection of breast cancer, but the method often gives false positives, requiring additional screenings and painful biopsies for patients. In addition, studies show that traditional mammograms may miss 10 percent to 20 percent of breast cancers, especially if the tumor is buried in dense tissue.

About half of women under 50 and a third of older women have naturally dense breast tissue, making it harder to distinguish between healthy tissue and questionable masses in mammograms, Frangioni says.

The new agent works by binding to micro-calcifications produced in breast cancers. Though scientists can’t explain exactly why these calcifications occur, studies show that the calcifications in malignant breast tumors contain a higher proportion of
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