Dear AuntMinnie Member,
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which AuntMinnie.com is observing with a series of new stories in our Women's Imaging Digital Community.
We start things off with an article that explores whether you should review full-field digital mammography (FFDM) images with a dedicated workstation, or whether a conventional PACS workstation will suffice. While there are benefits to both approaches, PACS workstations are favored by our contributor, Dr. Michael Trambert of Sansum Clinic and Cottage Health System in Santa Barbara, CA. Find out why by clicking here.
In another article we're featuring this week, staff writer Kate Madden Yee examines ways to reduce radiation delivered to the heart during radiation therapy treatments for breast cancer. Recent studies have found that radiation therapy delivered after breast cancer surgery can reduce cancer recurrence, but may also lead to heart disease later. Learn more about this important issue by clicking here.
Check back in our Women's Imaging Digital Community, at women.auntminnie.com, for additional articles later this month, including stories on radiation therapy for ductal carcinoma in situ, cryoablation for fibroadenomas, patient positioning for breast MR, and Medicaid rules regarding FFDM reimbursement.
In other news, virtual colonoscopy got another shot in the arm today, hot on the heels of last week's encouraging results from an American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) study.
In the new study, published in today's New England Journal of Medicine, University of Wisconsin researchers compared VC with optical colonoscopy in two cohorts comprising more than 6,200 patients. The researchers found that while the two techniques had comparable detection rates for advanced polyps, virtual colonoscopy was safer for screening. Get the details by clicking here.
