A new proof that Ultrasonography or Ultrasound can actually help in detecting cancer cells in dense breasts was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
The researchers collected and analyzed data from 2,809 women from across the U.S., Canada and Argentina. All of the participants had dense breasts, at least one additional risk factor for breast cancer. Each of the participants had three early screenings over three years using Mammography and Ultrasonography.
Overall, 111 breast cancers were found. Most - 80 percent - were invasive.
The results also confirm that Mammography was better at picking up cancers with so-called calcifications, such as are characteristic of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), the most common non-invasive form of breast cancer. DCIS may spread to and become invasive cancer, but is not life-threatening on its own-scientists still question and debate on whether it should be considered and called "cancer" at all.
Using the ultrasound, however, was better at detecting invasive cancers and those without calcifications, said lead author Dr. Wendie Berg, of Magee-Women's Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
"It's likely the cancers we find on ultrasound will make a bigger difference than those we find in mammography," Berg said.
But, this breakthrough could somehow mislead. Researchers said that using ultrasonography in lieu of mammography produced more false alarms - or false positives.
Note that during the first year, only 9 percent of biopsies ordered based on ultrasound findings confirmed a cancer diagnosis, compared to about 29 percent of biopsies for positive mammograms.
"If we know it's always been there, we're less likely to order a biopsy," Berg justified.
Advancements in this technology could allow women in developing countries detect and prevent breast cancer using the ultrasound, which is cheap ans is more available in such countries.
"It seemed like a particularly relevant question because in many countries there is no mammography available," Berg said. "There are now low-tech ultrasound devices that produce images of similar quality to devices used in this study," she told Reuters Health.
