The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a federal agency that conducts research on healthcare quality, costs, outcomes and patient safety has performed a study that shows that other tests other than a biopsy can miss four to nine percent of cancers in women who have an average risk of breast cancer after an abnormal mammogram.
Usually when a women has an abnormal mammogram she will need further testing done. Sometimes testing is performed by MRI, ultrasound or PET scan. This study showed that a biopsy is more effective at detecting breast cancer than the other methods mentioned.
Sometimes we hear about the overuse of biopsies being done since eighty percent of breast abnormalities come out to be benign, however the other twenty percent show to be cancerous.
The research showed that none of the tests mentioned are sufficient to replace biopsy because the screening tests show a two percent risk of missing a cancer in a women who has an abnormal mammogram.
Make sure if you do have an abnormal mammogram that you discuss with your doctor the option to have a biopsy.
You want to be sure your diagnosis is accurate!
1. A good follow-on test to check and make sure that breast cancer has not spread would be J&J's CellSearch test marketed by its Veridex unit.
I have followed the development of this test as Immunicon scientists in Huntingdon Valley, PA perfected the test.
I know many MBC patients and clinicians using this test to help decide what treatments are working and to decide how well a woman is staying in remission.
I would encourage women, their families, and their clinicians to see either Veridex's websites veridex.com or Immunicon's site: immunicon.com
I would suggest to Dalene Entenmann that she write an investigative and informative report on CellSearch's impact on breast cancer diagnosis and treatment for this website.
Posted at 11:46AM on Aug 17th 2006 by Alexander de Chaumont-Quitry