Dear Women's Imaging Insider,
In the Women's Imaging Digital Community, we like it when things are short and sweet, so recent studies on accelerated breast radiotherapy piqued our interest. The Insider Exclusive article rounds up three of these papers that put shorter treatment regimens (three weeks versus six weeks) to the test.
The issues regarding intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) that the researchers looked at included toxicity, radiation exposure, and patient positioning. Click here for the details. In a related article, you can learn more about a simultaneously integrated boost (SIB) technique for breast-conserving radiotherapy.
In other breast imaging news, the discussion over which has had a greater impact on breast cancer rates -- a decline in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use or mammographic screening -- rolls on.
We also have several stories on breast MR. First, a group from New York University is experimenting with fused PET and MRI for detecting primary and recurrent breast cancer. Second, investigators from Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center discussed why MR-guided biopsy has a tendency to miss ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).
Speaking of which, more research has been released on the value of MRI in detecting DCIS. Finally, Dr. Rachel Brem and colleagues reported that breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) beats mammography and MRI for detecting DCIS.
In the interest of keeping this note short and sweet, we'll stop here but not before we invite you to visit the Women's Imaging Digital Community in October for our Breast Cancer Awareness Month coverage.
