• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.1327-1331
• /
• 2014

Background: Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a new non-invasive, mobile screening method which does not use ionizing radiation to the human breast; allows conducting quantitative assessment of the images besides the visual interpretation. The aim of this study was to correlate the quantitative assessment and visual interpretation of breast electrical impedance tomographs and associated factors. Materials and Methods: One hundred and fifty mammography patients above 40 years and undergoing EIT were chosen using convenient sampling. Visual interpretation of the images was carried out by a radiologist with minimum of three years experience using the breast imaging - electrical impedance (BI-EIM) classification for detection of abnormalities. A set of thirty blinded EIT images were reinterpreted to determine the intra-rater reliability using kappa. Quantitative assessment was by comparison of the breast average electric conductivity with the norm and correlations with visual interpretation of the images were determined using Chi-square. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the mean electrical conductivity between groups and t-test was used for comparisons with pre-existing Caucasians statistics. Independent t-tests were applied to compare the mean electrical conductivity of women with factors like exogenous hormone use and family history of breast cancer. Results: The mean electrical conductivity of Malaysian women was significantly lower than that of Caucasians (p<0.05). Quantitative assessment of electrical impedance tomography was significantly related with visual interpretation of images of the breast (p<0.05). Conclusions: Quantitative assessment of electrical impedance tomography images was significantly related with visual interpretation.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.1-5
• /
• 2012

Breast MRI is the most accurate adjunctive to the mammography for the screening of breast cancer. Despite lack of randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of MRI screening, it is now recommended for the women at high risk for breast cancer by the American Cancer Society and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network based on several prospective observational studies. In Korea, a retrospective study reported that preoperative MRI screening of the contralateral breast in women with unilateral breast cancer was associated with reduced metachronous cancer incidence. To introduce breast MRI as a supplemental modality to screening mammography in Korea, standardization and education of interpretation, establishment of MR-guided biopsy and adequate indication, and evaluation of cost-effectiveness and should be preceded.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.7
• /
• pp.2939-2943
• /
• 2014

Background: While many studies have shown that hormones can influence background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) in breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), only few have directly address the effect of radiotherapy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of radiotherapy on BPE in breast MRI. Materials and Methods: A retrospective search identified 62 women with unilateral breast cancer who had a breast MRI both before and after radiotherapy following breast-conserving surgery. In our study, we assumed that systemic therapy affected both breasts equivalently. We rated the level of BPE of both breasts using a four-point categorical scale. A change in the level of BPE prior to and after treatment was compared in the diseased and contralateral breasts. Results: All patients received a 4256 to 6480 cGy dose of whole breast radiotherapy over 3-7 weeks. The mean timing of the follow-up study was 6.6 months after completion of radiotherapy. Although the BPE showed a decrease in both breasts after treatment, there was a significant reduction of BPE in the irradiated breast compared with the contralateral breast (1.18 versus 0.98 average reduction in BPE level, p=0.042). Conclusions: Radiotherapy is associated with decrease in BPE with MRI.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.7
• /
• pp.3229-3234
• /
• 2016

Background: Bone mineral density (BMD) is a lifetime marker of estrogen in a woman's body and has been associated with increased breast cancer risk. Nonetheless the actual association is still debatable. Furthermore, estrogen is very crucial in maintaining human bone density and gradually decreases over age. A systematic search was conducted to assess any association of BMD with breast cancer risk factors among premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods: Review identification was performed through databases searching on MEDLINE, CINAHL and SCOPUS and 19 qualified studies were elected. The keywords used were "bone mineral density", "breast cancer", and "breast density". Results: A total of 19 articles showed variation with the majority of the studies focused on postmenopausal and a few focused on premenopausal women. Overall there was no concensus on effects. Conclusions: An enormous effort is being undertaken by researchers to prove that BMD might be one of the significant risk factors for breast cancer.

• Korean Journal of Digital Imaging in Medicine
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.33-41
• /
• 2010

National Cancer Screening Project and Korean Society of Breast Imaging recommend that breast cancer screening should be performed on those aged 40 and above. Nevertheless, this recommendation is usually ignored by a number of medical institutions. The purpose of this study is to emphasize the necessity of an age limitation in screening mammography. Ten institutions were randomly selected and telephone inquiries about patients' age limitation and internal guidelines were set up. The 3,214 women, who underwent screening mammography through 'GE Senography 2000D' in each hospital, were classified into five groups according to age(from 20s to 40s, at intervals of 5). And then, collected data was analyzed by a radiologist in accordance with ACR-BIRADS(American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System), through which breast parenchymal density and the results of analysis were categorized in order to predict the sensitivity of mammography. Information about craniocaudal-view mammograms was automatically produced by use of GE Senography 2000D, and the average glandular dose was retrospectively analyzed through the program 'Excel 2007.' Two institutions did not set the age limitation. Other seven institutions internally allowed those who wanted to receive mammography regardless of age. Approximately 99% of those aged 20 to 29 were judged as having the dense breast. In those aged 35 to 39, breast parenchymal density tended to be lower, but the fatty breast to increase. In the case of 'category-zero' that does not need additional tests, the rate of 'heterogeneously dense' and 'extremely dense' reached to 83.1% and 15.1% respectively. Regarding dense breasts, there was no sufficient information for image reading. The glandular dose, applied to 3,214, was 1.47mGy on the average. In those aged 20 to 24 who are sensitive to radiation, the average glandular dose indicated 1.59mGy. Those aged 35 and above showed the lowest value, 1.43mGy. In those aged 35 to 39, the breast tended to change from denseness to fattiness. The average glandular dose was lowest in those aged 35 and above, which suggests that screening mammography should be periodically performed on those aged 35 and above in order that breast cancer may be early detected. On the other hand, in those aged less than 35, it is difficult to analyze mammograms due to the high density of breast parenchyma, and also retakes become frequent. In particular, subjects may be exposed to excessive doses. Accordingly, it should be substituted by breast self-examination or clinical breast examination. In case of need, it is advisable to perform ultrasonography.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
• /
• v.27 no.B
• /
• pp.91-96
• /
• 2007

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a technique for determining the electrical conductivity and permittivity distribution within the interior of a body from measurements made on its surface. One recent application area of the EIT is the detection of breast cancer by imaging the conductivity and permittivity distribution inside the breast. The present standard for breast cancer detection is X-ray mammography, and it is desirable that EIT and X-ray mammography use the same geometry. A forward model of a simplified mammography geometry for EIT imaging was proposed earlier. In this paper, we propose an iterative algorithm for computing the current pattern that will be applied to the electrodes. The current pattern applied to the electrodes influences the voltages measured on the electrodes. Since the measured voltage data is going to be used in the impedance imaging computation, it is desirable to apply currents that result in the largest possible voltage signal. We compute the eigenfunctions for a homogenous medium that will be applied as current patterns to the electrodes. The algorithm for the computation of the eigenfunctions is presented. The convergence of the algorithm is shown by computing the eigencurrent of the simplified mammography geometry.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.59-63
• /
• 2014

A 66-year-old woman was transferred to our hospital due to her right breast cancer. Preoperative breast MRI shows 1.9 cm malignancy on her right breast (cT1N0M0) and incidentally found osteosclerotic change of left coststernoclavicular region. Bone scintigraphy showed hot uptake and the possibility of bone metastasis was not excluded. However, because the bone metastasis is not common in early stage cancer and the costosternoclavicular region is not common site, other possibility should be considered. SAPHO syndrome can be diagnosed even in the absence of dermatosis when there is an axial or appendicular osteitis and hyperostosis, especially in costosternoclavicular region. Though breast imaging specialists are not accustomed to this disease entity, awareness and diagnosis of the SAPHO syndrome can help differentiate bone metastasis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.11
• /
• pp.5829-5834
• /
• 2012

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Although different metabolic factors have been implicated in breast cancer development, the relationship between hypertension and breast cancer has not been elucidated. Aim: To evaluate hypertension as a risk factor for breast cancer in Chilean women of low and middle socio-economic status. Methods: We conducted an age-matched (1:1) case-control study in 3 hospitals in Santiago, Chile. Breast cancer cases (n=170) were histopathologically confirmed. Controls had been classified as Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System I (negative) or II (benign findings) within 6 months of recruitment. Blood pressure was measured using a mercury sphygmomanometer and standardized procedures. We used 2 hypertension cut-off points: blood pressures of ${\geq}140/90$ mmHg and ${\geq}130/85$ mmHg. Fasting insulin and glucose levels were assessed, and anthropometric, sociodemographic, and behavioral information were collected. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated for the entire sample and restricted to postmenopausal women using multivariable conditional logistic regression models. Results: Hypertension (${\geq}140/90$ mmHg) was significantly higher in cases (37.1%) than controls (17.1%) for the entire sample and in postmenopausal pairs (44.0% compared to 23.8%). In crude and adjusted models, hypertensive women had a 4-fold increased risk of breast cancer (adjusted odds ratio: 4.2; 95% confidence interval: 1.8; 9.6) compared to non-hypertensive women in the entire sample. We found a similar association in the postmenopausal group (adjusted odds ratio: 2.8; 95% confidence interval: 1.1; 7.4). A significant effect was also observed when hypertension was defined as blood pressure of ${\geq}130/85$ mmHg. Conclusion: A significant association was found between hypertension and breast cancer over the entire sample and when restricted to postmenopausal women. Hypertension is highly prevalent in Latin America and may be a modifiable risk factor for breast cancer; therefore, a small association between hypertension and breast cancer may have broad implications.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.9-22
• /
• 2021

Diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a rapid, unenhanced imaging technique that measures the motion of water molecules within tissues and provides information regarding the cell density and tissue microstructure. DW MRI has demonstrated the potential to improve the specificity of breast MRI, facilitate the evaluation of tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and can be employed in unenhanced MRI screening. However, standardization of the acquisition and interpretation of DW MRI is challenging. Recently, the European Society of Breast Radiology issued a consensus statement, which described the acquisition parameters and interpretation of DW MRI. The current article describes the basic principles, standardized acquisition protocols and interpretation guidelines, and the clinical applications of DW MRI in breast imaging.

• Korean Journal of Digital Imaging in Medicine
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.99-103
• /
• 2011

Radiation Therapy has been used in the treatment of breast cancer for over 80 years. Technically, it should include a part or all of such areas as chest wall or breast, axilla, internam mammary nodes and supraclavicular nodes. The purpose of this study is treated breast cancer patient to use 6 MV, 10 MV with bolus so that we observe changing of skin dose and evaluate those usefulness. Using woman's phantom, after CT simulate scanning, Through RTP system to make treatment plan, select three any place. And then, we measure that dose rate. After moving the phantom to linac, we put for TLD to three point same as RTP system which we put on the phantom. We exposed 6 MV, 10 MV with bolus and without so that it is measured dose by TLD device(4000 Harshaw). As a reult expose 6 MV,10 MV, it differences 10%, 15% according to bolus and withoout bolus where lateral point from RAO, LPO beam, other one is 20% where the furthest from both beams. To use bolus in the hospital is material to include closely part at skin among tissue of breast cancer. Acquired skin dose from RTP system is uncertainity. So it has to test another system likely TLD or other dosimetry system. Also exposed field of breast cancer is included inhomogeneity such as lung, bone and so on. Therefore it has to be accomplished a dose calculating of inhomogeneity part from treatment plan.