Early Detection of Breast Cancer
Despite the attention from scientific bodies that guide the screening programmes for early detection of breast cancer and the technological development of recent years, breast cancer continues to increase, with high rates of mortality. The major known risk factors are related to genetic predisposition and hormonal influence. However, there are no effective measures that can prevent the disease’s development. Early diagnosis and, consequently, rapid intervention through specific treatment are measures that can restore the patient’s health.
The head of CETAC’s mammography services, Dr. Maria Helena Louveira, believes that, in practice, medicine has methods that provide cumulative information, and that – if used wisely and under medical supervision – can diagnose breast cancer at an ever-earlier stage and with greater accuracy, which has a direct impact on treatment choice and the chances of curing patients.
Mammography
Mammography remains the only effective method of identifying signs of breast cancer in asymptomatic women. Routinely performed on women of 40 or older, it helps to reduce mortality from this disease. Today, the test may be performed by highly sensitive analogue digital mammography equipment that, with a little compression to the breast, is able to identify early lesions often smaller than 1cm, which implies a less aggressive, more effective treatment with greater chances of a cure. Digital mammography, with its ability to detail the denser structures of the breasts, has shown a better performance in detecting cancer, especially in women under 50 and postmenopausal women who use hormone therapy.
Ultrasonography, puncture and biopsy
Faced with a suspicious or indeterminate sign on a mammography, it is often necessary to elicit the aid of ultrasonography, biopsy or puncture to analyse the lesion’s cells. A biopsy is a procedure of great importance and is performed by the radiologist, and can be guided both by ultrasound and by mammography. When guided by mammography, a resource called stereotaxy is used. The biopsy procedure is simple, safe and painless and is carried out under local anaesthetic at the radiological clinic, with no need for hospitalisation.
Magnetic Resonance
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become an important tool in the evaluation of the breast due to its higher sensitivity in the detection of cancer. However, its use in screening for disease in asymptomatic patients is restricted to those considered at high risk (with known genetic predisposition). Its greatest contribution occurs in patients already diagnosed with breast cancer, as it is more efficient in the evaluation of the extent to which the breast is compromised than conventional methods (mammography and ultrasound). It can also be performed as a complement to mammography or ultrasound in cases where these methods were not sufficient to rule out the presence of a suspicious lesion. It is the standard procedure for the detection of complications, such as ruptures, in patients with silicone implants.
