First established in 1991, Australia’s national breast screening program, BreastScreen, has saved many lives through early detection of breast cancers.
The joint Australian and state/territory government program funds free mammograms every two years for all women aged between 50 and 74 years. Women can also receive a free mammogram in their 40s.
As our population ages we need to increase the numbers of women presenting for screening and the accuracy of screening. Picture: Getty Images
This is commendable but especially as our population ages we need to increase the numbers of women presenting for screening and the accuracy of screening (detecting cancers) while decreasing unnecessary call-backs.
Published in the International Journal of Cancer, our latest research has found two new ways to predict breast cancer risk from mammograms.
When these measures are combined, they are much more effective in stratifying women in terms of their risk of breast cancer than all the known genetic risk factors. The new method could therefore greatly improve breast screening by allowing it to be tailored to each woman’s risk at minimal extra cost.
In terms of understanding how much women differ in their breast cancer risk, these developments could be the most significant since the breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 were discovered 25 years ago.
Breast screening involves low dose X-ray images of each breast with the primary aim of detecting breast cancers early when they are smaller, easier to treat, and more likely to be cured.
NEW PATHS
Microscopy image, breast cancer tissue with ductal cell carcinoma. Picture: Shutterstock
Breast cancer mortality has decreased since the service began, from 74 deaths per 100,000 women aged 50 to 74 in 1991, to 40 in 2018, although many other factors have also played in a role in this almost halving of deaths from breast cancer.
The need to change the program has been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic which interrupted service delivery in 2020. This created a backlog for an already stretched service and poses an additional challenge for population screening.
By having breast screening tailored to each woman’s risk, resources could be better allocated and more accurate. Busy radiologists could be alerted to women at higher risk of breast cancer, and of having breast cancers missed at screening. Future screening could be made more appropriate and personalised.
Since the late 1970s, scientists have known that women with denser breasts, which show up on a mammogram as having more white or bright regions, are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer.
Women with greater breast density are also more likely to have existing breast cancers missed at screening. This problem of ‘dense breasts’ is attracting growing concern from community groups and breast screening services across the world.
Given mammography is now digital, women could automatically be assessed for their breast cancer risk at the time of screening. Picture: Getty Images
NEW MEASURES OF BREAST CANCER RISK BASED ON MAMMOGRAMS
Over the last five years we have developed two new measures of breast cancer risk that arise from examining mammograms in different ways.
Collaborating with Cancer Council Victoria, BreastScreen Victoria and other researchers across the world, we have been the first to use mammograms to find other ways of investigating breast cancer risk.
Participating women filled out a questionnaire and allowed researchers to access their mammograms from BreastScreen, other providers or their own copies.
We used computer programs to analyse mammogram images of large numbers of women with and without breast cancer. We found and confirmed two new measures for extracting risk information to develop two new mammogram-based risk measures called Cirrocumulus (based on the image’s brightest areas) and Cirrus (based on the image’s texture).
We first used a semi-automated computer method to measure density at the usual, and successively higher levels of brightness to create Cirrocumulus. We then used artificial intelligence and high-speed computing to learn about new aspects of a mammogram that predict breast cancer risk and created Cirrus.
Women with denser breasts, which show up on a mammogram as having more white or bright regions, are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer. Picture: Shutterstock
When the Cirrocumulus and Cirrus measures were combined, they substantially improved risk prediction beyond that of all other known risk factors. This applied both to predicting breast cancer diagnosed at future regular screens (screen-detected cancers) as well as to predicting breast cancer diagnosed between regular screens (interval cancers).
TOWARDS TAILORED BREAST CANCER SCREENING
Given mammography is now digital, and our measures are now computerised, this research could lead to women being assessed for their breast cancer risk at the time of screening – automatically. They could then be given recommendations for their future screening based on their risk, not just their age.
This tailored screening – not ‘one size fits all’ – could be more accurate and better identify women at high, as well as low, risk so that their future screening can be adjusted accordingly.
If successfully adopted, these measures could make screening more effective in reducing breast cancer mortality and help address the problem of dense breasts. The extra cost would be minimal as they simply use computer programs. Family history data collected by BreastScreen could also easily be used to even better predict risk for some women.
Adoption of these new measures could also be used to ease pressure on BreastScreen in handling the COVID backlog with limited resources.
Women found to be at high risk based on their mammogram would also benefit greatly from knowing their genetic risk, especially if they have a family history. Picture: publicdomainpictures.net
If it becomes well-recognised that screening can be used to more accurately assess risk, more women might be encouraged to be screened and the participation rate increased.
Women found to be at high risk based on their mammogram would also benefit greatly from knowing their genetic risk, especially if they have a family history.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting Australian women, with an estimated 20,000 diagnosed in 2020. If we can further improve early detection, and do so on more effective way, more of them may beat this insidious disease which is increasing across the world.
Dr Kevin Nguyen at the University of Melbourne, starting with his ground-breaking PhD, created the Cirrocumulus measure in an on-going collaboration with researchers from Seoul National University in South Korea, The application of artificial intelligence was led by Dr Daniel Schmidt, now at Monash University, and Dr Enes Makalic when working at the University of Melbourne.
WASHINGTON—At a Senate health committee hearing today on the federal government’s response to COVID-19, U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) pressed health leaders on the progress on a vaccine for the American public and the need for comprehensive, current data on COVID-19 to better equip the country to reopen and handle future pandemics.
Agency Earns Kudos for Skipping Animal Tests in Search for Coronavirus Therapies—and Receives a Plea to Make Non-Animal Research the New Normal
Washington – In response to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to allow companies to skip required tests on animals and head straight to human trials in the search for COVID-19 therapies, PETA sent a letter to the agency applauding the move and urging it to move away from animal experiments completely.
“The novel coronavirus has thrown the inadequacy of cruel, costly, misleading, and time-consuming animal experiments into sharp relief,” says PETA Regulatory Testing Department Science Adviser Jeffrey Brown. “PETA is urging the FDA not to revert to the wasteful status quo and to take this opportunity to prioritize human-relevant, non-animal research methods only.”
Of all new medications that test safe and effective in animals, 95% fail in human clinical trials. PETA’s Research Modernization Deal provides a detailed strategy for replacing the use of animals in experiments with superior, humane scientific research, which would save the lives of millions of animals every year and accelerate drug development for humans suffering from diseases.
The group’s letter to the FDA is available here. For more information, please visit PETA.org.
Connex, formerly PRSM, the authority on Retail and Multisite Facilities Management, is excited to announce the 2019 Retail Facilities Maintenance Industry Overview Benchmarking Report. This report contains more data than ever before including 150+ charts in five different areas – Demographics, Organizational Structure, Multi-Site Organizations’ Budgets & Expenses, Supplier Management and Sustainability.
The 2019 Retail Facilities Maintenance Industry Overview features new data on staffing, use of technology, budget forecasting and recycling programs. Additionally, this one-of-a-kind report highlights Connex Resources – Online Education Courses, Tools, Templates and White Papers – to assist facility managers in putting data into action.
“The facilities management industry has evolved since we published the 2017 version of the Retail Facilities Maintenance Industry Overview,” said Bill Yanek, Connex, CEO. “This new edition is a comprehensive resource showcasing the current state of the Facilities Management industry and shares education and resources to make efficient and effective business decisions.”
To illustrate the value of the 2019 Industry Overview, Connex created a Benchmarking Snapshot to share a glimpse into some of the available data. The Snapshot includes the industry average of the percentage of preventive versus corrective actions, number of full-time staff, lease agreements as well as Repair & Maintenance, Capital Expenditures and Remodel/Reimage budgets.
The 2019 Industry Overview was created using FY2018 data collected from the responses provided in the Retail Facilities Maintenance Industry Overview Benchmarking Survey. The report includes the average aggregate data from 21% of the association’s Multi-Site FM membership segment. A variety of different store types are represented – including, but not limited to, apparel, banking/financial services, chain drug store/pharmacy, convenience store/gas station, discount store, grocery store/supermarket, and medical/dental. Additionally, the snapshot features average aggregate data from 15% of the association’s Supplier membership segment.
“This new edition of the Connex Benchmarking Report is a comprehensive resource that showcases the current state of the Facilities Management industry and shares education and resources to make efficient and effective business decisions.” Bill Yanek – Connex CEO
Your own body is one of your best defenses against cancer. At MSK, we're fighting cancer with genetically engineered immune cells built just for you. #AACR19https://t.co/BPRPWoO6eb
— Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (@sloan_kettering) March 30, 2019
PETA Reminds Everyone That Saving All Lives Is a Great Choice
Atlanta – Georgia’s Senate has passed a bill that prohibits abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected—which typically happens around six weeks into pregnancy—and PETA plans to place a billboard in Atlanta that proclaims, “Pro-Life? Go Vegan.”
“There’s nothing ‘pro-life’ about eating baby animals who were killed in order to end up on a plate or in a carry-out box,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “Pigs, cows, and chickens are just weeks or months old when they’re slaughtered for a fleeting taste of flesh, and PETA’s billboard urges everyone to keep animals’ hearts beating by eating vegan. It’s easy, and we have free recipes to get you started.”
In today’s meat industry, baby piglets are castrated without painkillers and chickens’ throats are cut while they’re still conscious at just 6 to 8 weeks of age. The majority of animals killed for human consumption never reach their first birthday.
The dairy industry keeps cows almost constantly pregnant by forcibly inseminating them, and their beloved babies are taken away from them shortly after birth so that the milk meant for the calves can be sold to humans. Male calves are raised in cramped pens and then slaughtered for veal. In the egg industry, mother hens are forced to produce as many as 300 eggs per year, leading to ovarian carcinomas and other reproductive tumors, and are sent to the slaughterhouse once their bodies wear out. Their male babies, who are considered worthless by the industry, are tossed alive into grinders.
In addition to sparing nearly 200 animals a year daily suffering and a terrifying death, vegans have a greatly reduced risk of suffering from heart disease, obesity, cancer of the colon and breast, and diabetes.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. The group also plans to place the ad in Frankfort, Kentucky; Jackson, Mississippi; and Raleigh, North Carolina following new abortion legislations in those states. For more information, visit PETA.org.
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