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Breast Ultrasound
Breast ultrasound is useful for the evaluation of some breast
masses and is the only procedure that can determine if a cyst is present,
without performing a needle biopsy. It is not routinely used for breast cancer
screening, because calcifications or
some small masses cannot be seen on an ultrasound.
Ultrasound is used in biopsies to locate the areas of breast
abnormality that cannot be felt by the physician.
Ductogram
A ductogram is a procedure that uses contrast enhanced mammography
to determine the cause of an abnormal nipple discharge. A tiny plastic tube
is placed in the duct and a small amount of contrast medium is
injected into the duct. Mammograms are then taken to determine if a mass
is present in the duct.
Abnormal nipple discharge may represent a benign breast condition
but should be evaluated by a physician.
Less Common Diagnostic Procedures
Today, mammography is the most effective method of detecting breast
cancers at an early stage. There are, however, a number of procedures that
are being studied or are under development for future application in the
detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. Research efforts are focused on
procedures to find cancers that are smaller than those that can currently
be detected by mammography and to improve the ability to distinguish benign
breast conditions from breast cancer.
| Other Potential Diagnostic Procedures |
| Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) |
| A method of taking pictures of the inside of the body, using a powerful
magnet and radio waves that are transmitted through the body.
This method is currently less effective than mammography
in detecting breast cancer, although MRI can detect some
abnormalities that cannot be seen by mammography. |
| Digital mammography |
| A method of storing an x-ray image of the breast as a computer image that can be enhanced and transmitted over telephone lines. Digital
mammography has been proven to be at least as effective as
film-based mammography and it is anticipated that future
advances will make this technology superior to regular mammography. |
| Nuclear Medicine |
| A method that involves the injection of a small amount of a radioactive
substance into the body that collects in a targeted area
of the body, followed by imaging with a special camera that
records where radiation has accumulated. This test is currently
less sensitive than mammography in detecting breast cancers.
Research with this method is continuing to determine whether
it may be useful in evaluating some abnormalities detected
by mammography. |
| Positron emission tomography (PET Scanning) |
| A method that creates an image of the body after the injection of a very
low dose of a radioactive form of a substance such as glucose
(sugar). The scan computes the rate at which the tumor is
using the sugar. In general, high-grade tumors use more sugar
than normal and low-grade tumors use less. PET scans are
useful in detecting the spread of breast cancer. It is not
currently used for detection of breast cancer because it
does not detect cancers smaller than 1 cm. |
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