Mammography

Recently, the Los Angeles Times published an article entitled “False-positive mammograms take mental toll, study finds.” As a radiologist in Los Angeles. I am , of course concerned  with and sympathetic to the anxiety created when an abnormality is detected on a screening mammogram. I believe there are several important issues not addressed in the [...]

AuntMinnie | Breast cancer MRI screening among high-risk, underserved women can significantly decrease diagnostic costs and increase patient compliance with follow-up appointments compared with general-risk mammography screenings, according to a study presented September 20 at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Washington, DC. The cost [...]

AuntMinnie | How promptly a facility follows up with women who have received an abnormal mammogram is crucial to a screening mammography program’s success, according to a new study published online in Radiology. Time to follow-up varies widely between facilities — indicating there is definitely room for improvement — but most patients receive follow-up within [...]

imagingBiz | A bill that requires health care providers to inform women when they are found to have dense breast tissue has been passed by the California State Legislature, reports sponsoring Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto). Known as Senate Bill 791 and formerly Senate Bill 173, it is being submitted to Governor Jerry Brown for [...]

AuntMinnie | Maximum standardized uptake values on PET/CT scans can help predict prognosis in breast cancer patients with bone metastases, but other PET/CT values could be even more useful, according to research presented last week at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Breast Cancer Symposium. Dr. Komal Jhaveri and colleagues from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer [...]