Friday 13 July 2001
Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research have developed a pioneering new method for diagnosing breast cancer. The new technique is expected to help doctors to distinguish more accurately between benign and malignant tumours and avoid the need for more invasive procedures such as biopsy.
Breast cancer affects one in eleven British women and kills thirty per cent of those diagnosed. Of the women screened by mammography, about ten per cent of the x-ray images record something suspicious which requires further investigation. However only a small number of those cases will be cancerous.
Until now, further investigation of a problem detected at screening has involved the patient being referred for an ultrasound scan to help clarify whether or not their 'lump' is malignant.
Although the conventional ultrasound system is effective, the need for refinement of the technique to produce a more accurate image has led Dr Jeff Bamber and his team in the Physics Section at The Institute of Cancer Research to develop a new method known as freehand elastography.
The new system creates images using information from tissue stiffness - the same property that gives rise to the sensation of a hard lump found within suspicious breast tissue when it is felt with the fingers. It is achieved through a computer process in which images are recorded while the breast is pressed gently by a hand-held ultrasound probe.
Dr Bamber says: "The new design has now been through initial clinical evaluation and the evidence so far suggests that freehand elastography in conjunction with conventional ultrasound scanning will eventually improve accuracy of diagnosis - and once fully developed will be applied in primary breast cancer. We hope that it may ultimately be used to help diagnose other forms of the disease and to help monitor treatment."
One of the major benefits of the new system is that it requires virtually no modification of conventional ultrasound equipment - thus minimising costs to NHS hospitals. Additionally, the new method prolongs the usual examination by no more than a few minutes.
Crucially, the freehand elastography method is also able to deliver new information about tumours including an improved understanding of the size and shape of the mass which had not been available through existing methods.
Dr Peter Rigby, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research said: "Medical imaging forms a fundamental part of the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. This is a significant advance which will allow clinicians far more accuracy in detecting breast cancers than previously. Importantly, the new system has been developed to be both affordable and accessible to hospitals. Our scientists now need to begin further development work to ensure that this system will eventually help many thousands of women."
The system has taken around four years to develop and, during that time, The Institute's team has worked on some of its potential disadvantages. For instance, during initial trials of the technique, a loss of image quality was recorded but the team has since worked successfully to resolve this problem.
There is potential for refining the system still further: by improving the speed of the technique, it could operate more efficiently within the hospital setting.
Initial indications are that, with further development, the quality of the image produced by the new technique will be ultimately superior to that of conventional ultrasound imaging. Nevertheless the two methods would continue to be used in conjunction because the information obtained from one tends to complement that from the other.
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For more information, please contact:
The Institute of Cancer Research
Tel: 0207 970 6030
email: [email protected]
Notes to editors
- The work on freehand elastography has been made possible by a grant from the Medical Research Council, a PhD studentship from the Cancer Research UK and equipment provided by Acuson - a Siemens company. It was evaluated by Hammersmith Hospital's Professor David Cosgrove with a series of volunteer patients scanned in the Radiology Department at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Fulham.
- The work on developing freehand elastography has been very well received by the medical scientific community. The Institute of Cancer Research's Dr Jeff Bamber and Dr Frank Fuechsel from the Hammersmith Hospital - who was responsible for applying the method clinically - have already won prizes awarded by the British Medical Ultrasound Society and the Radiological Society of North America respectively.
- The Institute of Cancer Research is a centre of excellence with some of the world's leading scientists working on cutting edge projects. It was founded in 1909 to carry out research into the causes of cancer and to develop new strategies for its prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care.
- The Institute of Cancer Research has a unique partnership with The Royal Marsden NHS Trust which enables scientific discoveries to be translated quickly into patient care.
Please note:
Unfortunately the press office are unable to answer queries from the general public. For general cancer information please refer to The Institute's cancer information page.