CHICAGO, Dec. 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In a new effort
to improve early breast cancer detection and reduce false positive
exams in women with dense breasts, the American College of
Radiology (ACR), Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) and GE
Healthcare are partnering to support the Contrast Enhanced
Mammography Imaging Screening Trial (CMIST).
The planned trial, managed by the ACR Center for Research and
Innovation, seeks to determine if contrast enhanced spectral
mammography (CESM) screening provides more accurate cancer
detection compared to combination of digital breast tomosynthesis
(DBT) and whole breast ultrasound (WBUS) in women with dense
breasts.
Approximately 40 percent of women age 40 and over have dense
breasts, which can make detection of breast cancer more challenging
using mammography alone. With wider digital breast tomosynthesis
(DBT) adoption, and increased use of supplemental screening
ultrasound due to breast density notification laws, many women with
dense breasts are screened each year with both DBT and whole breast
ultrasound (WBUS).
"CMIST will investigate the challenges of current screening
options for women with dense breasts," said Dorraya El-Ashry, PhD,
BCRF Chief Scientific Officer. "The goal is to reduce false
positive rates while improving breast cancer detection. Early
detection remains key to improving breast cancer outcomes and our
collective goal is to optimize critical tools for diagnosis."
CESM combines mammography and vascular-based screening methods
that may offer a more efficient screening approach. CESM highlights
areas of unusual blood flow patterns in a simple and quick
procedure. Early studies of CESM in screening women with dense
breasts have shown that CESM has the potential to increase the
breast cancer detection rate by 70-80% compared to conventional
mammography.1
Expected to launch in spring 2020, the paired-design multicenter
trial will evaluate the performance of CESM in screening women
with mammographically dense breasts (BI-RADS density
categories c and d), ages 40-75, at average-to-intermediate risk
for breast cancer, compared to the combination of tomosynthesis and
ultrasound.
"The new CMIST Trial can help determine if CESM can provide a
more accurate and efficient screening approach for women with dense
breasts," said CMIST Principal Investigator Christopher Comstock, MD, FACR, FSBI, director
of breast imaging clinical trials, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer
Center.
"We know that one size does not fit all when it comes to breast
care, and that it's critical to offer a personalized approach to
breast cancer screening," says Agnes
Berzsenyi, President and CEO of Women's Health at GE
Healthcare. "We're excited to support this important study to
further evaluate the clinical benefits of CESM so that clinicians
can be even more confident in their diagnosis and quickly get
answers for their patients."
About the American College of Radiology
The American
College of Radiology is a membership organization of 39,000
radiologists, radiation oncologists and medical physicists
dedicated to serving patients and society by empowering radiology
professionals to advance the practice, science and professions of
radiological care.
About BCRF
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation
(BCRF) is dedicated to ending breast cancer by advancing the
world's most promising research. Founded by Evelyn H. Lauder in 1993, BCRF-funded
investigators have been deeply involved in every major breakthrough
in breast cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment,
survivorship and metastasis. BCRF is the largest private
funder of breast cancer research worldwide.
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare is the $19.8 billion healthcare business of GE (NYSE:
GE). As a leading provider of medical imaging, monitoring,
biomanufacturing, and cell and gene therapy technologies, GE
Healthcare enables precision health in diagnostics, therapeutics
and monitoring through intelligent devices, data analytics,
applications and services. With over 100 years of experience in the
healthcare industry and more than 50,000 employees globally, the
company helps improve outcomes more efficiently for patients,
healthcare providers, researchers and life sciences companies
around the world. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and The
Pulse for latest news, or visit our website
https://corporate.gehealthcare.com/ for more information.
1 Sung et al. Radiology Oct
2019
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SOURCE American College of Radiology