Have you heard of Thermal Imaging instead of mammograms?

• By 2xnow
• Posted November 1, 2009 at 5:53 pm
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Do you know if thermal imaging can be done on a reconstructed breast since mammograms are a no-no. I often wonder if the cancer cells were from the mastectomy breast or from my other breast that lead to the bone and lung mets. Digital has replaced regular mammograms as of late and eventually I think thermal will replace the digital process.

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• By Groovygirlcool
• Posted November 2, 2009 at 8:08 am
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Have I heard of it? Yes. A learned friend has digital thermography done as a breast cancer screening method - we have a local one, but she travels to Sydney for another type, where they keep you cold, prior to scanning, as menitoned in one of the articles I googled and posted below:

http://www.ajronline.org/cgi/content/abstract/180/1/263

Efficacy of Computerized Infrared Imaging Analysis to Evaluate Mammographically Suspicious Lesions

OBJECTIVE.

The purpose of this clinical trial was to determine the efficacy of a dynamic computerized infrared imaging system for distinguishing between benign and malignant lesions in patients undergoing biopsy on the basis of mammographic findings.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS.

A 4-year clinical trial was conducted at five institutions using infrared imaging of patients for whom breast biopsy had been recommended. The data from a blinded subject set were obtained in 769 subjects with 875 biopsied lesions resulting in 187 malignant and 688 benign findings.

The infrared technique records a series of sequential images that provides an assessment of the infrared information in a mammographically identified area. The suspicious area is localized on the infrared image by the radiologist using mammograms, and an index of suspicion is determined, yielding a negative or positive result.

RESULTS. In the 875 biopsied lesions, the index of suspicion resulted in a 97% sensitivity, a 14% specificity, a 95% negative predictive value, and a 24% positive predictive value. Lesions that were assessed as false-negative by infrared analysis were microcalcifications, so an additional analysis was performed in a subset excluding lesions described only as microcalcification.

In this restricted subset of 448 subjects with 479 lesions and 110 malignancies, the index of suspicion resulted in a 99% sensitivity, an 18% specificity, a 99% negative predictive value, and a 27% positive predictive value. Analysis of infrared imaging performance in all 875 biopsied lesions revealed that specificity was statistically improved in dense breast tissue compared with fatty breast tissue.

CONCLUSION. Infrared imaging offers a safe noninvasive procedure that would be valuable as an adjunct to mammography in determining whether a lesion is benign or malignant.
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http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=844379

Applying dynamic thermography in the diagnosis of breast cancer

Abstract

The major difficulty in the interpretation of breast thermography is the complexities of the vascular patterns (false negatives and false positives), and a secondary problem is the existence of cold tumors (false negatives).

To overcome these difficulties, we investigated dynamic thermography after cold stress. When a breast is exposed to cold stress, the vascular pattern disappears, and after the stress is removed, the pattern gradually recovers. This phenomenon of thermal recovery can be visualized by sequential thermography or by digital subtraction thermography. In this study, we have attempted to increase the sensitivity of breast thermography by using thermal recovery and sequential and subtraction thermography, hoping that even small tumors with negative steady-state thermography may appear in dynamic thermography
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http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/112670846/abstract

Breast thermography and cancer risk prediction

ABSTRACT
Thermography makes a significant contribution to the evaluation of patients suspected of having breast cancer. The obviously abnormal thermogram carries with it a high risk of cancer. This report summarizes the results of patients with questionable or stage Th 111 thermograms.

From approximately 58,000 patients, most of whom had breast complaints, examined between August 1965 and June 1977, the conditions of a group of 1,245 women were diagnosed at initial examination as either normal or benign disease by conventional means, including physical examination, mammography, ultrasonography, and fine needle aspiration or biopsy, when indicated, but nevertheless categorized as stage Th 111 indicating a questionable thermal anomaly.

Within five years, more than a third of the group had histologically confirmed cancers. The more rapidly growing lesions with shorter doubling times usually show progressive thermographic abnormalities consistent with the increased metabolic heat production associated with such cancers.

Thermography is useful not only as a predictor of risk factor for cancer but also to assess the more rapidly growing neoplasms.
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There's just something a bit 'archaic' about the ol' mammogram isn't there!

xxxGGC
ps, I'll post more info, if it looks interesting.

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• By Groovygirlcool
• Posted November 2, 2009 at 8:27 am
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But wait ! There's more.....

At:http://www.breasthealthonline.org/cgi-bin/mwf/topic_show.pl?tid=46450

in the article titled:

The Role of Infrared Imaging in the Detection of Cancer

-is this info:
In a series of 4,000 confirmed breast cancers, Thomassin and associates observed 130 sub-clinical carcinomas ranging in diameter of 3-5 mm.

Both mammography and thermography were used alone and in combination. Of the 130 cancers, 10% were detected by mammography only, 50% by thermography alone, and 40% by both techniques. Thus, there was a thermal alarm in 90% of the patients and the only sign in 50% of the cases [39].

In a study by Gautherie and associates, the effectiveness of thermography in terms of survival benefit was discussed.

The authors analyzed the survival rates of 106 patients in whom the diagnosis of breast cancer was established as a result of the follow-up of thermographic abnormalities found on the initial examination when the breasts were apparently healthy (negative physical and mammographic findings).

The control group consisted of 372 breast cancer patients. The patients in both groups were subjected to identical treatment and followed for 5 years.

A 61% increase in survival was noted in the patients who were followed-up due to initial thermographic abnormalities.

The authors summarized the study by stating that "the findings clearly establish that the early identification of women at high risk of breast cancer based on the objective thermal assessment of breast health results in a dramatic survival benefit" [40-41].
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Can I rewind a few years please?! xxxGGC

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• By Thermoqueen
• Posted November 2, 2009 at 6:46 pm
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Thermography is the best procedure for the reconstructed breast as well as for mastectomies as it "sees" the chest wall which mammography and MRI can not. I performed mammography for 36 years and a Thermogram picked up my cancer which was not visible on Mammography.

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