June 2009
NEW for 2009 - research abstracts for the ASM will be published in Breast Cancer Research
Programme, abstract registration and further links available here
BREAST IMAGING RESEARCH NETWORK microsite - now online
NEW Members only site - RCRBGmembers.com
Updated Constitution pages available
BREAST IMAGING RESEARCH NETWORK (BIRN) Workshop - The RCR breast group has set up a Breast Imaging Research Network.. One of the aims of the network is to support breast research across the UK. We had a very successful workshop as part of the ASM in London.
THE 2nd Breast Imaging Research Network workshop will be hald the day before the Annual Scientific Meeting at Belfast in November.
Announcements
THE BREAST COURSE - The course is primarily for radiologists and focuses on image guided techniques with live demonstrations of all the core and vacuum techniques and cryo-ablation. There are also hands on work shops with all the devices available to try. Big on MR as well with Steve Harms and Christiane Kuhl doing lots of workshops. Tom Stavros is also a main contributor doing plenary lectures and workshops focused on specific problem areas. There is input from top end oncologists, pathologists and surgeons (including Emiel Rutgers from the Erasmus in Holland) as well. The faculty are also around all the time for one to one sessions - www.thebreastcourse.com
NEW DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE on Digital Mammography
NHS Purchasing and Supply Website info
Welcome to the home pages of the Royal College of
Radiologists Breast Group
We are a specialist group of radiologists working in breast
imaging in the UK
Membership includes associate members, such as breast
clinicians, who are medically qualified members of the breast
team. Also advanced practitioners/consultant practitioners (radiographic
technologists) who have extended their roles in film
reading, ultrasound and biopsies are allied to our group.
Most pages are only accessible to registered members of the
group, but access for information is available to visitors
If you cannot get access, please e-mail the webmaster
Are you involved in Screening Surveillance for women treated for Hodgkins Disease?
Please see this page from Sue Moss requesting evaluation forms UPDATED
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JNCI response to latest attack on screening by Grotzche et al
JNCI response to latest attack on screening by Grotzche et al
In a very balanced editorial in today's JNCI, Liz Savage writes about the recent letter to The Times of London, and the claim that up to 50% of cancers are diagnosed unnecessarily by the NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHS BSP), but primarily the attack was again on the content of invitation leaflets sent to women at each invitation. These were changed or amended after their last attack in the media a few years ago.
Although some of their criticism remains valid, their wild claims that 50% of cancers detected by screening would never kill women remains unsubstantiated.
While it is clear, that some women have an exceptionally good prognosis, and probably would never have had disease that would have killed them, the majority (or even if it was just the 50%) would definitely have been helped.
Newer genomic typing of tumors may assist at an early stage of diagnosis (perhaps at initial core biopsy) which group of risk she is in, then if low, she may not need any treatment, or just hormone therapy instead of the current more invasive procedures.
Typing, such as that used by mammaprint (nl), may be able to distinguish between three separate groups, with minimal overlap. Laura Vantveer, on sabatical with UCSF from Holland is developing this technique on all our cancers treated at UCSF. The middle group of women with less aggressive subtyping and the ones most likely to be helped by screening, the high risk women showed marked aggressivity at any size, and appear to need everything (including the kitched sink) thrown at them, to get a response (CPR - complete pathological response)
Women with the least aggressive subtype, may be represented by this group who never progress to a 'killer' cancer, and may be overtreated by being offered chemotherapy, radiotherapy or even surgery. If these cancers NEVER kill anyone, maybe a different term - other than carcinoma - may need to be used to indicate that these are a different disease compared with the real cancers.
These are interesting times, and allow us to start thinking more intelligently about screening, and the outcomes from screening. In the meanwhile.... let's get back to ensuring that women are adequately informed about the benefits and risks at their invitation.
© Dr Chris Flowers, RCR Breast Group 2001-2009