Contrast-Enhanced Spectral Mammography Minimizes Diagnosis Delays

A new breast imaging scanning procedure has been developed to be simple: after an intravenous injection of contrast dye (similar to magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]), the patient receives a mammogram using contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) technology, which basically analyzes blood flow patterns within the breast tissue to create a precise image of normal versus abnormal findings.

The Pink Lotus Breast Center, a breast center focused on the prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer, announced the unveiling of GE Healthcare’s CESM technology at its flagship breast center in Beverly Hills, CA, USA. CESM will be provided at the facility’s Sheryl Crow Imaging Center--the first facility in the United States to make this new advancement available to patients.

“We expect CESM to minimize the anxiety-provoking delay between finding something on screening mammography that might be cancer, and giving a woman definitive answers with a plan,” said Kristi Funk, MD, founder of the Pink Lotus Breast Center.

When an inconclusive mammogram and ultrasound require additional testing, scheduling, and completing the next step--such as MRI--frequently creates an indirect and lengthy path that may not even lead to a diagnosis. CESM lessens this path for many patients in several ways: (1) a CESM scan only takes a little longer than a diagnostic mammogram, and uses the same equipment as a routine mammogram, which patients already understand; (2) the CESM technology clearly isolates concerning lesions while hiding noncancerous tissue, thus eliminating the ambiguity of the initial study; (3) unlike MRI, CESM is not hindered by hormone replacement or menstrual cycles, so CESM can be scheduled immediately with findings available within minutes; and (4) compared to MRI, CESM does not cause as much discomfort or claustrophobia, and is four times faster.

“More than ever before, patients who have an inconclusive mammogram can expedite their path to a diagnosis using CESM,” remarked Lori-Beth Sewell, chief operating officer at the Pink Lotus Breast Center. “This further sets us apart from other organizations that are often so departmentally fragmented that the path to diagnosis can last weeks or even longer.”

As a comprehensive breast center, the Pink Lotus Breast Center provides new technologic developments such as CESM, as well as in offering a wide variety of screening and diagnostic tools that allow patients to be quickly diagnosed, minimizing their anxiety over the unknown. This is why GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, UK) selected the Pink Lotus Breast Center to launch its CESM technology, which carries the brand name SenoBright. CESM considerably reduces patient anxieties by resolving inconclusive findings with a short wait.

Related Links:
GE Healthcare
Pink Lotus Breast Center