New technology targets breast cancer

New technology targets breast cancer
Dr. Susan Roux shows the U-Systems 3-D automated breast ultrasound machine at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula on Tuesday.
Breast cancer can hide in plain sight.
In women with denser breast tissue than normal, traditional mammograms may miss dangerous tumors.
To address this, Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula is one of 10 centers taking part in a U.S. Food and Drug Administration clinical trial that will look at 20,000 women to test a new technology that promises to spot breast cancer more often.
Radiologist Dr. Susan Roux said up to 40 percent of women have denser-than-normal breast tissue. This can make it difficult to spot malignant growths early because, on mammograms, cancer appears as a white spot. Unfortunately, normal breast tissue also appears white.
“It is like trying to find a white bird in a snowstorm,” said Roux.
Fat, which makes up a large part of most women’s breasts, appears grayish-black and provides a better contrast to cancerous tissue, she added.
This simple fact can have troubling consequences. Roux said that mammograms miss about 15 percent of cancers, which are only found when they become large enough to be felt. By then, they may be more aggressive or difficult to remove.
As medical director of the Breast Care Center at Community Hospital, Roux has developed programs to make breast cancer diagnosis less stressful for women. Ordinarily, doctors will run a number of tests to determine if a woman has breast cancer: mammogram, ultrasound scanning, and then a needle biopsy. All this can take several weeks and, in the meantime, a woman doesn’t know whether she has cancer.
At the Breast Care Center, Roux tries to do as many tests as possible during the same visit. That way a woman can leave after only one day with potentially live-saving knowledge.
“It’s much more humane to try to solve the problem quickly,” said Roux. “Then you can get on with the treatment.”
In 2004, Roux consulted with a company called U-Systems that developed a new three-dimensional ultrasound scanner to more easily see through dense breast tissue. Their machine has now been installed at the Breast Care Center and provides high-quality, digital ultrasound scans.
Going digital has proved incredibly useful, said Roux.
“The scans can be rendered from any angle, downloaded to DVD, and even sent in an e-mail,” she said.
The technology offers other advantages. Traditional ultrasound is performed by a specially trained radiologist using a small machine about the size of a credit card, said Roux. The new machine is bigger, about 14 inches, and large enough to scan an entire breast in one go.
A technician can perform the necessary scans, and a doctor later can scrutinize them for abnormalities. The process is more efficient than normal mammography, said Roux. Since there are many more technicians than doctors, more women can get scanned in a shorter span.
At an open house today, Community Hospital will showcase the machine and the Breast Care Center’s complete upgrade after a committee of seven local women raised $2.5 million in a fundraising campaign for the center.
Roux particularly credited Carol Hatton, who spearheaded and worked tirelessly for the fundraising effort. She died of breast cancer during the process.
“She had such an amazing spirit,” said Roux. “And she left a wonderful legacy.”
Adam Mann can be reached at adammann
If you go What:Open house at Breast Care Center When:6 to 7:30 p.m. today Where:1035 Cass St., Monterey

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