A "breakthrough" in breast cancer could end an unnecessary biopsy

European scientists have developed a new mammogram system that could "end" unnecessary biopsies by identifying benign or malignant breast lesions.
Scientists at Horizon2020 project SOLUS say they have developed a non-invasive, multi-mode imaging system that uses ultrasound and light technology to easily distinguish between benign or malignant lesions without biopsy.Similar to pregnancy ultrasound appointments, clinicians scan breasts with hand-held "intelligent photoelectronic" pen probes that combine light and sound to check blood parameters and tissue composition, the team said.
Diffusion optical imaging allows you to monitor changes in oxygenation and deoxygenation hemoglobin, collagen, lipids, and water concentrations in suspected tumors against a pre-set of results.
SOLUS scanners read many different parameters to create comprehensive characteristics of the tissue, collecting total blood volume and oxygenation, collagen, water and lipid content, and hardness and morphological information to produce accurate diagnosis.For 95 percent sensitivity and 90 percent specificity, scientists say the project combines commercial ultrasound and elastic imaging with new diffuse optical imaging methods.Paula Taroni, a researcher and professor at the Polytechnic University in Milan, Italy, explains: "It is surprising that millions of unnecessary biopsies are being carried out around the world, millions of euros are spent in Europe and could be in the billions of euros worldwide."
"After extensive laboratory trials, the SOLUS team plans to validate the system in a real-world clinical environment by the end of this year and in 2021," she continued. Althoughmammograms are accurate in detecting breast lesions, many women experience false positive results - positive tests for lumps, but there are no malignant tumors. （cyy123.com）