Breast cancer is a leading killer of women and while great
steps have been taken to prevent, detect, and cure it, it is still an issue in
the health care community. Diagnostic
imaging plays a vital part in the detection of breast cancer and in
establishing the proper treatment program for patients being affected by it. Often
times it’s extremely difficult to treat breast cancer once it’s past a certain
point. When breast cancer is categorized as a triple negative it’s fair to say
that there will likely not be a tomorrow.
A recent article published by auntminnie.com stated that triple
negative breast cancer “accounts for 10% to 20% of all breast cancers, but it
causes a relatively large proportion of deaths and has a high rate of distant
metastases at diagnosis.” This simply means that within the percentage of
breast cancers it covers, it kills people who suffer from it. MRI and CT scans are being
linked to the appearance of triple breast cancer. The link is in the fact that
a specific type of enhanced MRI and CT scan can help patient prognosis.
As is the case with many complex conditions early detection
plays a role in developing a positive prognosis. The difficulty lies in how the
body will react to treatment given the fact that treatment is sometimes
incredibly counter productive. This particular link between imaging and cancer
was found after an exhaustive study was conducted over a significant period of
time. It was stated that “117 invasive breast cancers in 117 patients, with an
average tumor size of 3.8 cm. Volume, grade, hormone receptor, and human
epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status were available for 110 tumors
(94%), while hormone receptor and HER2 status were available for 115 tumors
(98%). Twenty-four lesions (20%) demonstrated the triple-negative phenotype.”
In order to arrive at their conclusions, the study was conducted to a point
where everything involved was factored in correctly.
What does not help the study is a limitation in population.
There are multiple other factors that range from age to allergies according to
the study. According to the article “The authors cited several limitations of
the study, including a sample of patients mostly with advanced disease.”
Therefore, the ability to generalize our results to the breast cancer population
at large is limited.”
Only the future can tell what’s going to happen with this
particular development. Hopefully there will be a greater portion of early
detection result treatments with the MRI and CT scans suggested by this study.
If you have any questions about diagnostic imaging
procedures please feel free to give us a call. We here at Clermont Radiology
look forward to answering any questions you may have. Our commitment to patient
satisfaction and top quality service has never been stronger.
Charla
Hurst
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