CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2023 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
Scroll To Top
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Some common noninvasive tests for breast cancer aren't accurate enough to routinely replace biopsies, a government review concluded Thursday. Current guidelines recommend that women get a biopsy--removing some suspicious cells or tissue for examination--when a mammogram suggests the possibility of breast cancer.
Yet only about one in five women getting biopsies actually has breast cancer instead of some other condition, usually a benign one. Although biopsies today often can be done using a needle, there is intense interest in finding a noninvasive alternative.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reviewed four imaging methods already on the market: MRI scans, ultrasound, PET scans, and a type of nuclear medicine test called scintimammography. They're used for various breast-related purposes. MRI scans, for example, sometimes are used to help screen young women's denser breasts, which mammograms don't always penetrate. Ultrasound can distinguish when a lump is a fluid-filled cyst.
But if these tests routinely replaced biopsies, they would miss between 4% and 9% of cancer cases among women at average risk of the disease and possibly more among high-risk women, the agency concluded.
Some studies have shown that lesbians are at a higher risk of breast cancer than their heterosexual peers. (AP, with additional reporting by Advocate.com)
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
Elm Street Star Mark Patton Hospitalized With HIV Complications, Seeks Help
January 28 2023 11:43 AM
Jillian Michaels Shares Which Fitness Trends Are Bogus & Reflections on Biggest Loser
January 27 2023 4:54 PM