Detecting breast tumours

Scientists from Finland, Germany and the European Synchrotron Research facility (ESRF) have developed a new technique that could enable doctors to detect tumours with greater precision than is currently possible using X-ray mammography.

The technique itself allows a 3D image of the breast to be created with a high spatial resolution. Better yet, it is extremely sensitive to alterations in the tissue, such as those generated by cancer.

Although X-ray mammography is currently the most widely used tool in diagnostic radiology, it fails to identify about 10 to 20 per cent of palpable breast cancers. This is because some breasts, especially in young women, are very dense. Therefore, on mammograms, glandular tissues can mask cancer lesions.

Better results are obtained using X-ray computed tomography (CT). CT imaging could produce accurate 3D images of the entire breast, improving the detection of early diseases in dense breasts. However, its use in breast imaging is limited by the radiation dose delivered to a radiosensitive organ such as the breast.