New Breast Cancer Scan Shows Promise

It's effective at early detection in younger women, study finds

THURSDAY, May 12, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- Electrical impedance scanning (EIS) is a promising tool for early detection of breast cancer in women younger than 45 years old, a new study has found.

The research included 1,163 women who were categorized according to breast cancer risk, based on clinical and biopsy findings. The women were also evaluated using EIS. The study found that EIS was rarely positive for women with the lowest risk of breast cancer but was often positive in women with the greatest breast cancer risk.

"This study draws a rather clear relationship between electrical impedance scanning parameters and proven breast cancer risk and this, of course, is the fundamental basis for the use of EIS in evaluating young women who currently have little else to rely upon when it comes to breast cancer screening," Dr. Lawrence Platt, a professor of obstetrics/gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a prepared statement.

The EIS device used in this study was the T-Scan 2000, which measures electrical signals as they flow through breast tissue and evaluates electrical impedance variables using specially designed algorithms. The device is currently undergoing review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The study was presented this week at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists annual meeting in San Francisco.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about breast cancer screening.

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