Functional breast imaging using the single photon technique.
Early diagnosis of carcinoma of the breast is currently attempted by mammography and physical examination which together have a sensitivity of 85%. Mammography has a positive predictive value of only 15 to 40 percent. The usefulness of scintimammography for the detection of carcinoma of the breast has been studied which demonstrated improved specificity compared to conventional mammography. In future, with the development or dedicated breast imager and new targeted radiopharmaceuticals, we can achieve detection of smaller than 1 cm carcinoma. This type of imaging enables us to detect cancer at its 'pre-anatomic' stage.
Khalkhali
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Division of Nuclear Medicine, Harbor--UCLA Medical Center and Harbor--UCLA Research and Education Institute, Inc., Torrance, CA 90502, USA. nephrad@aol.com
Itti
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D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon