Medicine in the news

Elastrography

An experimental ultrasound technique that measures breast lumps and immediately determines whether they are benign or cancerous made the news. This new innovation could enable doctors to determine instantly whether a woman has cancer – WITHOUT having to do a biopsy.

In a study of 80 women, the technique, called elastrography distinguished harmless lumps from malignant lumps with nearly 100 percent accuracy, Cancerous tumors are firmer than the benign ones, so the technique seems to work.

If the results hold up, elastrography could save thousands of women from the waiting, cost, discomfort and anxiety of a biopsy, not to mention the stress and fear involved with the biopsy itself and then waiting for the results.

Up to one million biopsies are performed every year on suspicious breast tissue detected by mammograms and self-exams, but as many as 8 out of 10 biopsies determine the lumps are benign.

Costs range from $200 to $1000 per biopsy depending on whether fluid, tissue or the entire lump is removed. It can take days or weeks to get the results. Elastrographs are expected to cost $100-$200 according to the experts, plus the results are available in minutes.

How accurate were they? Compared with biopsies, elastrography identified 17 of 17 cancerous tumors and 105 of 106 harmless lesions. Nice statistics!

Scientists also predict this approach could be used in the future to rapidly diagnose damaged hearts, prostate glands, etc.

How does it work? Elastrography uses echoes from high frequency sound waves (just like ultrasound) to create pictures inside the body. In regular ultrasounds, the doctor or technician places a hand-held device on the skin that sends those sound waves into the body. Organs and tissue reflect the sound back as “echoes,” which are sent to a computer that changes the echo patterns to an image. Elastrography goes one step further – it also gauges movement. As the doctor moves the device against the breast, it collects echoes before and after the compression or movement of the tissue (bouncing up and down like putting pressure on a bedspring). The images show stiff tissues as dark areas and softer tissues as light areas. The cancer shows up larger on the screen too on an elastrogram than on an ultrasound because it can see the scar tissue around the cancer.

Great news indeed!