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.
How to Join the Breast Group
LATEST minutes of Big 18 (June 2010) available
LATEST MRI screening documents and forms available on the High Risk Screening Guidelines Page
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2010 ASM
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The Breast Course
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Digital Purchasing
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NCEPOD
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IE Portal
BRIGHTON 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting
Programme and Call for Abstracts
Registration
Abstracts via Hampton's
Research abstracts for the ASM will be published in Breast Cancer Research
NOTE: Abstract submission deadline - FRIDAY 30th JULY 2010
DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE on Digital Mammography
NHS Purchasing and Supply Website info
The Image Exchange Portal (IEP) is a web-based application that allows healthcare professionals to securely transfer patient images from one hospital trust to another. The system has been deployed in increasing numbers of trusts since January 2010 and significant benefits are already being realised for both hospital staff and patients.
IEP was designed to eliminate the costly production of CDs, streamline radiology reporting and improve the patient experience. It’s expected that 120 trusts will be using IEP by June 2010. By this time some 20,000 patient studies will have been transferred using the system, significantly reducing the number of patient images that have to be burned to CD and sent via costly courier services.
PACS medical director Erika Denton says that IEP “is a major step towards ensuring that diagnostic imaging information can be shared along a patient’s care pathway in a secure way”.
Guidelines from the American College of Radiology
- permission has been granted by the ACR for us to link to their practice guidelines and appropriateness criteria
These are somewhat similar to the UK Guidelines and MBUR tables, but in more detail. They are well work a look
Practice Guidelines
Appropriateness Criteria
Is Mammographic Breast Density a Breast Cancer Risk Factor in Women With BRCA Mutations?
In a paper from Sunnybrook in Toronto, Canada in this month's Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers found that women with increased breast density who were also BRCA gene mutation carriers did not have an increased risk of breast cancer.
Is Mammographic Breast Density a Breast Cancer Risk Factor in Women With BRCA Mutations?
Kavitha Passaperuma, Ellen Warner, Kimberley A. Hill, Anoma Gunasekara, Martin J. Yaffe
Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 28, No 23 (August 10), 2010: pp. 3779-3783
Link to Journal -
Their purpose of the study was based on the knowledge that Increased mammographic breast density is a well recognized as a breast cancer risk factor in the general population. However, it is unclear whether it is a risk factor in women with BRCA mutations. They present the results of a nested case-control screening study investigating the relationship between breast density and breast cancer incidence in this population.
Between November 1997 and March 2008, 462 women (mean age, 44 years; 245 BRCA1 and 217 BRCA2) were screened and 50 breast cancers were diagnosed (38 invasive, 12 ductal carcinoma in situ [DCIS]). Density was not measured in 40 women of whom four developed cancer (three invasive, one DCIS). Mean PD (± standard deviation [SD]) for 376 women who did not develop breast cancer was 34% (23) compared with 31% (21) for 46 women with cancer (P = .51). Logistic regression model of breast cancer incidence and PD revealed an odds ratio of 0.99 (± 0.01 SD) for a one-unit increase in PD (P = .44). Results remained nonsignificant in multivariate analysis, as well as when women with pure DCIS were excluded.
Their conclusion was that ncreased mammographic breast density in "two-dimensional" breast imaging is not associated with higher breast cancer incidence in women with BRCA mutations.
On the basis of these findings, density should not be considered a factor for these women in decision making regarding prophylactic surgery or chemoprevention.
Some pointers they make are that what they call 3D breast imaging like Digital mammography and MRI may give a better reflection of true breast density (compared with conventional mammography (SFM) which tends to over-estimate breast density, may give different results, therefore the study should be repeated with current mammographic techniques using FFDM or using MRI.
© Dr Chris Flowers, 2001-2010