Screening Tool For Breast Cancer Research Articles

A comprehensive comparison of circulating tumor cells and breast imaging modalities as screening tools for breast cancer in Chinese women.

BackgroundCirculating tumor cells (CTCs) have been recognized as a sensitive biomarker for breast cancer (BC). This study aimed to comprehensively compare CTC with imaging modalities, including ultrasonography, mammography, and contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in screening for BC in Chinese women.MethodsThree hundred forty-three participants were enrolled in this study, including 102 treatment-naive BC patients, 177 with breast benign diseases (BBD) and 64 healthy female patients. All participants underwent CTC testing and at least one of the following examinations, ultrasonography, mammography, and MRI at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University between December 2017 and November 2020. CTCs were quantitatively assessed using cell counting (CTC detection rate/counts) and categorically examined using a cutoff value (CTC classification). The diagnostic power of CTC tests and imaging modalities, including accuracy and capability to predict clinicopathological characteristics of BC, were evaluated and compared.ResultsCTC classification with a cutoff value of 2 showed a “good” diagnostic accuracy of 0.889 for early- to mid-stage BC comparable to breast imaging modalities using Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS). MRI demonstrated the highest sensitivity of 0.872 for BC, and CTC classification had the highest specificity of 0.938. A relatively low sensitivity was found for mammography in this cohort of patients. Successful detection of BC by CTC detection rate/counts, but not CTC classification, correlated with two important clinicopathological features, American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage and tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage. The detection power of certain imaging modalities was also associated with AJCC stage (ultrasonography, p = 0.0438 and MRI, p = 0.0422) and lymph node metastasis (ultrasonography, 0.0157). There were clear correlations between CTC tests (counts or classification) and imaging BI-RADS scoring system in detecting positive BC cases (p < 0.05). Further correlation analysis suggested that CTC quantity, but not CTC classification, had the capability to predict clinicopathological traits of BC that were identified by ultrasonography.ConclusionsCTC tests have a diagnostic potency comparable to breast imaging modalities, and may be used as an alternative screening tool for BC.

Breast Cancer Detection in Mammography Images Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks and Fuzzy Ensemble Modeling Techniques.

Breast cancer has evolved as the most lethal illness impacting women all over the globe. Breast cancer may be detected early, which reduces mortality and increases the chances of a full recovery. Researchers all around the world are working on breast cancer screening tools based on medical imaging. Deep learning approaches have piqued the attention of many in the medical imaging field due to their rapid growth. In this research, mammography pictures were utilized to detect breast cancer. We have used four mammography imaging datasets with a similar number of 1145 normal, benign, and malignant pictures using various deep CNN (Inception V4, ResNet-164, VGG-11, and DenseNet121) models as base classifiers. The proposed technique employs an ensemble approach in which the Gompertz function is used to build fuzzy rankings of the base classification techniques, and the decision scores of the base models are adaptively combined to construct final predictions. The proposed fuzzy ensemble techniques outperform each individual transfer learning methodology as well as multiple advanced ensemble strategies (Weighted Average, Sugeno Integral) with reference to prediction and accuracy. The suggested Inception V4 ensemble model with fuzzy rank based Gompertz function has a 99.32% accuracy rate. We believe that the suggested approach will be of tremendous value to healthcare practitioners in identifying breast cancer patients early on, perhaps leading to an immediate diagnosis.

Is the Impact Breast Implants with RFID Have on MRI Quality Investigated Thoroughly Enough?

Is the Impact Breast Implants with RFID Have on MRI Quality Investigated Thoroughly Enough?

Patient-centered research: how do women tolerate nipple fluid aspiration as a potential screening tool for breast cancer?

BackgroundNipple fluid aspiration (NFA) is a technique to acquire nipple aspirate fluid (NAF), which is considered a rich source of breast-specific biomarkers. Originating directly from the mammary ducts, this liquid biopsy can offer insight into the process of carcinogenesis at its earliest stage and therefore could be of added value to the current imaging-based breast cancer screening tools. With that in mind, it is necessary to know how well NFA is tolerated.AimTo evaluate the participants’ tolerability of NFA compared to breast imaging screening methods and blood draws.Materials and methodsThree cohorts of women underwent NFA: healthy women (n = 190), women diagnosed with breast cancer (n = 137) and women at high risk of developing breast cancer (n = 48). A 0–10 discomfort score of NFA, mammography, breast MRI and blood draws, was filled in at the study visits, which took place once or annually.ResultsThe median discomfort rate of NFA was 1, which was significantly lower than the median discomfort of mammography and breast MRI (5 and 3, respectively, p < 0.001), but significantly higher than median discomfort for blood draws (0, p < 0.001). The great majority of women would undergo the procedure again (98%) and recommend it to others (97%).ConclusionThis study shows that NFA was well tolerated by healthy women, women diagnosed with breast cancer and high-risk women. This makes NFA a feasible method to pursue as a potential future breast cancer early detection tool, based on resident biomarkers.Trial registrationNL41845.041.12, NL57343.041.16 and NL11690.041.06 in trialregister.nl.

PKM Remaja Sehat Bersama SADARI di SMK Baiturrahim Jambi

Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood where the breast organs begin to grow and develop rapidly so that they require optimal care such as breast self-examination (BSE). BSE is an early screening tool for breast cancer that can be done by a woman herself by touching and massaging around the breast, starting from adolescence with the hope that if a breast abnormality occurs, it can be treated early so that it can reduce the morbidity and mortality rate of women due to breast cancer. The purpose of this service is for students at Baiturrahim Vocational School to gain knowledge about BSE and be able to do BSE examinations themselves. Baiturrahim Vocational School was chosen as the location for community service, because it has a Nursing and Pharmacy study program and the majority (90%) are female. The results showed that 80% of Baiturrahim Vocational High School students participated in the activity with enthusiasm and appreciation and were interested in learning BSE and it is hoped that this counseling aterial can be applied to students and the surrounding community.

Abstract 5932: Novel screening technology for early detection of breast cancer using liquid biopsy

Abstract Breast cancer screening is the first line-of-defense in detecting this disease early, and consequently changing its outcomes, dramatically. We introduce Crystalogram as a novel, radiation-free, blood-based, breast cancer screening tool, for asymptomatic adult women of all ages, regardless of their risk level. While Crystalogram could be used in tandem with Mammogram, it has unique characteristics that could make it effective as an independent tool, particularly for those who currently have no standard-of-care recommendation for breast screening, i.e., asymptomatic, average risk women younger than 40 or 45 in the U.S. or Europe, respectively. In the realm of cancer screening, positive predictive value (PPV) plays a crucial role. A low or moderate PPV (as in Mammogram) could result in a large number of false positive patients, who would subsequently have to undergo unnecessary tests, some of which are invasive, such as tissue biopsy. By targeting a remarkably high PPV, Crystalogram is aimed to (while offering an attractive sensitivity) reduce the number of false positive patients, and hence offer a true screening platform. Most methods for cancer screening are based on either imaging or (if molecular) cell-free tumor DNA (ctDNA). Crystalogram uses circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in conjunction with whole genome sequencing (WGS). Molecular analyses using CTCs pose many technical challenges; however (unlike ctDNA) they provide a complete view of a cell, and hence the related cellular perturbations that are indicative of breast cancer. In ctDNA-based cancer screening methods, the source of nucleic acid for each sequenced fragment is lost. In a CTC-based system, however, the source of all sequenced fragments (i.e., cells they originate from) is known. Additionally, since the nucleic acid for each cell is independently amplified, the number of available fragments per cell is significantly higher as compared to ctDNA originating from comparable cells. Through a CTC-based and molecular technology, Crystalogram can deliver a superior PPV for breast cancer screening, and at a reasonable sensitivity. This is particularly true for breast cancer subtypes that have more dire outcomes and yet evade current screening modalities (e.g., triple negative breast cancer). The crux of Crystalogram’s high specificity is its two-tiered architecture, where a sample may be called negative at either of the two subsystems (in series), each of which is highly specific: 1) Sample Qualification System (SQS), which operates on a relationship built on the proprietary antibody staining features of the cells along with their physical properties; 2) Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), where the sample can be marked as negative if it does not show the expected proprietary signatures for breast cancer. Since SQS and WGS systems are in series, a modest specificity of 99% for each subsystem would result in a specificity of 99.99% for the complete Crystalogram system. Citation Format: Bahram G. Kermani. Novel screening technology for early detection of breast cancer using liquid biopsy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 5932.

Breast health screening questionnaire, a UK perspective: The acceptability of use of nipple aspirate fluid as a screening tool for breast cancer

Background: There is an unmet clinical need in identifying and screening women at high risk of breast cancer. Nipple aspirate fluid (NAF) is thought to provide a unique window into the biological processes occurring within the breast, particularly in the context of a developing neoplasm. A breast health questionnaire was disseminated, with the aim of collecting opinions on the acceptability of using NAF as a potential screening tool.

Synthetic Mammography: Review of Benefits and Drawbacks in Clinical Use.

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has been widely adopted as a breast cancer screening tool, demonstrating decreased recall rates and other improved screening performance metrics when compared to digital mammography (DM) alone. Drawbacks of DBT when added to 2D DM include the increased radiation dose and longer examination time. Synthetic mammography (SM), a 2D reconstruction from the tomosynthesis slices, has been introduced to eliminate the need for a separate acquisition of 2D DM. Data show that the replacement of 2D DM by SM, when used with DBT, maintains the benefits of DBT, such as decreased recall rates, improved cancer detection rates, and similar positive predictive values. Key differences between SM and 2D DM include how the image is acquired, assessment of breast density, and visualization of mammographic findings, such as calcifications. Although SM is approved by the Food and Drug Administration and has been shown to be non-inferior when used with DBT, concerns surrounding SM include image quality and artifacts. The purpose of this review article is to review the benefits, drawbacks, and screening performance metrics of SM versus DBT.

Breast Tumor Classification Using Intratumoral Quantitative Ultrasound Descriptors.

Breast cancer is a global epidemic, responsible for one of the highest mortality rates among women. Ultrasound imaging is becoming a popular tool for breast cancer screening, and quantitative ultrasound (QUS) techniques are being increasingly applied by researchers in an attempt to characterize breast tissue. Several different quantitative descriptors for breast cancer have been explored by researchers. This study proposes a breast tumor classification system using the three major types of intratumoral QUS descriptors which can be extracted from ultrasound radiofrequency (RF) data: spectral features, envelope statistics features, and texture features. A total of 16 features were extracted from ultrasound RF data across two different datasets, of which one is balanced and the other is severely imbalanced. The balanced dataset contains RF data of 100 patients with breast tumors, of which 48 are benign and 52 are malignant. The imbalanced dataset contains RF data of 130 patients with breast tumors, of which 104 are benign and 26 are malignant. Holdout validation was used to split the balanced dataset into 60% training and 40% testing sets. Feature selection was applied on the training set to identify the most relevant subset for the classification of benign and malignant breast tumors, and the performance of the features was evaluated on the test set. A maximum classification accuracy of 95% and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.968 was obtained on the test set. The performance of the identified relevant features was further validated on the imbalanced dataset, where a hybrid resampling strategy was firstly utilized to create an optimal balance between benign and malignant samples. A maximum classification accuracy of 93.01%, sensitivity of 94.62%, specificity of 91.4%, and AUC of 0.966 were obtained. The results indicate that the identified features are able to distinguish between benign and malignant breast lesions very effectively, and the combination of the features identified in this research has the potential to be a significant tool in the noninvasive rapid and accurate diagnosis of breast cancer.

Practice, Perceptions, and Prospects of Mammography Screening in Nigeria: Insights From a National Survey of Female Health Workers

BackgroundMammography, the most preferred tool for breast cancer screening, has very poor uptake in Nigeria, even among health workers. No nationwide study has been done to ascertain this. This study sought to determine the current perceptions and practices of Nigerian female health care practitioners on mammography screening across different types and levels of health care institutions in the country's 6 geopolitical zones. MethodsThis cross-sectional online survey was conducted using Google Forms distributed among Nigerian female health workers via online professional associations and networks. Descriptive and inferential statistics were done using SPSS version 20. ResultsA total of 562 respondents, with mean age of 41.30 ± 9.8 years, were surveyed. About half (50.3%) were doctors, with majority practicing in southern Nigeria. A mammography screening utilization rate of 15.4% was found, with majority having their first mammography long after attaining the age of eligibility. As of the time of the survey, only 24.8% of tertiary health workers had access to functional mammography machines at their place of work. Majority of female doctors (78%) never refer eligible patients for mammography, although nearly all (98.6%) were willing to do so. About 54% of those who have had a previous mammography screening vs. 17% who have not had 1 would recommend it to others. Majority of respondents recommended annual mammography from the age of forty at a subsidized cost. ConclusionNigerian female health workers have limited access to mammography and consequently do not screen often. Efforts must be made to make ‘charity begin at home’.

Evaluation of the Pink Luminous Breast LED-Based Technology Device as a Screening Tool for the Early Detection of Breast Abnormalities.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of sex-specific female cancer deaths in the United States. Detection at earlier stages contributes to decreasing the mortality rate. The mammogram is the “Gold Standard” for breast cancer screening with an estimated sensitivity of 86.9% and a specificity of 88.9%. However, these values are negatively affected by the breast density considered a risk factor for developing breast cancer. Herein, we validate the novel LED-based medical device Pink Luminous Breast (PLB) by comparison with the mammogram using a double blinded approach. The PLB works by emitting a LED red light with a harmless spectrum of 640–800 nanometers. This allows the observation of abnormalities represented by dark or shadow areas. In this study, we evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of the PLB device as a screening tool for the early detection of breast abnormalities. Our results show that the PLB device has a high sensitivity (89.6%) and specificity (96.4%) for detecting breast abnormalities comparable to the adjusted mammogram values: 86.3 and 68.9%, respectively. The percentage of presence of breast density was 78.2% using PLB vs. 72.9% with the mammogram. Even with higher findings of breast density, the PLB is still capable of detecting 9.4% of calcifications compared to 6.2% in mammogram results and the reported findings for cysts, masses, or tumor-like abnormalities was higher using the PLB (6.5%) than the mammogram (5.6%). A 100% of the participants felt comfortable using the device without feeling pain or discomfort during the examination with 100% acceptability. The PLB positive validation shows its potential for routine breast screening at non-clinical settings. The PLB provides a rapid, non-invasive, portable, and easy-to-use tool for breast screening that can complement the home-based breast self-examination technique or the clinical breast examination. In addition, the PLB can be conveniently used for screening breasts with surgical implants. PLB provides an accessible and painless breast cancer screening tool. The PLB use is not intended to replace the mammogram for breast screening but rather to use it as an adjunct or complemental tool as part of more efficient earlier detection strategies contributing to decrease mortality rates.

Evaluation of Different Diagnostic Modalities in Breast Cancer - A Systematic Review

Background: Most common cancer in women that is 32 % of all newly diagnosed cancers is breast cancer. Breast cancer develops when cells of your breast multiply and divide uncontrollably, resulting in a lump of tissue known as a tumor. Screening type of mammography has played a key role in reducing breast cancer mortality. Aim: To evaluate role of three diagnostic modalities in the breast cancer. Methods: The data bases PubMed and other search engines were searched with the key words: breast cancer, mammography, ultrasound, MRI, sensitivity, specificity, from 1999 to 2020. For inclusion and exclusion of studies we screened the most relevant and irrelevant outcomes. Studies having information of breast cancer, mammography, ultrasound, MRI, sensitivity, specificity was included. Meta-analysis were excluded. Results: In total 39 studies with breast cancer the overall mean sensitivity of ultrasound, mammography and MRI were 76.81, 74 and 88.18 respectively. Overall mean specificity of ultrasound, mammography and MRI 79.65, 87 and 75.17 respectively. SD of Sensitivity and Specificity of MRI is 10.57 and 16.27. SD of Sensitivity and Specificity of mammography is 20.92 and 16.43. SD of Sensitivity and Specificity of ultrasound is 23.71 and 20.05. Conclusions: MRI, because of its limitations cannot be used routinely for diagnosing breast cancer. Mammography is readily available screening tool for breast cancer however it has low sensitivity for diagnosis of breast cancer and requires complimentary imaging. Ultrasound can be used as baseline modality as it saves time and safe in all conditions. Keywords: Breast Cancer, Mammography, Ultrasound, MRI, Sensitivity, Specificity

Volatile Organic Compounds Analysis as a Potential Novel Screening Tool for Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review.

Introduction:An early diagnosis is crucial in reducing mortality among people who have breast cancer (BC). There is a shortfall of characteristic early clinical symptoms in BC patients, highlighting the importance of investigating new methods for its early detection. A promising novel approach is the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced and emitted through the metabolism of cancer cells.Methods:The purpose of this systematic review is to outline the published research regarding BC-associated VOCs. For this, headspace analysis of VOCs was explored in patient-derived body fluids, animal model-derived fluids, and BC cell lines to identify BC-specific VOCs. A systematic search in PubMed and Web of Science databases was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines.Results:Thirty-two studies met the criteria for inclusion in this review. Results highlight that VOC analysis can be promising as a potential novel screening tool. However, results of in vivo, in vitro and case-control studies have delivered inconsistent results leading to a lack of inter-matrix consensus between different VOC sampling methods.Discussion:Discrepant VOC results among BC studies have been obtained, highly due to methodological discrepancies. Therefore, methodological issues leading to disparities have been reviewed and recommendations have been made on the standardisation of VOC collection and analysis methods for BC screening, thereby improving future VOC clinical validation studies.

Evaluation of the Value of Multiplex MicroRNA Analysis as a Breast Cancer Screening in Korean Women under 50 Years of Age with a High Proportion of Dense Breasts.

This study was conducted to confirm the performance of the microRNA (miRNA) biomarker combination as a new breast cancer screening method in Korean women under the age of 50 with a high percentage of dense breasts. To determine the classification performance of a set of miRNA biomarkers (miR-1246, 202, 21, and 219B) useful for breast cancer screening, we determined whether there was a significant difference between the breast cancer and healthy control groups through box plots and the Mann–Whitney U-test, which was further examined in detail by age group. To verify the classification performance of the 4 miRNA biomarker set, 4 classification methods (logistic regression, random forest, XGBoost, and generalized linear model plus random forest) were applied, and 10-fold cross-validation was used as a validation method to improve performance stability. We confirmed that the best breast cancer detection performance was achievable in patients under 50 years of age when the set of 4 miRNAs were used. Under the age of 50, the 4 miRNA biomarkers showed the highest performance with a sensitivity of 85.29%, specificity of 93.33%, and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.961. Examining the results of 4 miRNA biomarkers was found to be an effective strategy for diagnosing breast cancer in Korean women under 50 years of age with dense breasts, and hence has the potential as a new breast cancer screening tool. Further validation in an appropriate screening population with large-scale clinical trials is required.

ARE WE DOING ENOUGH IN PROMOTING BREAST CANCER SCREENING: AN EVALUATION OF MALAYSIA BREAST CANCER SCREENING PROGRAM

Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women globally. Several ways of breast cancer screening tools are available. This study aims to evaluate Malaysia's breast cancer screening program using the national database based on participation and performance indicators for the past five years. A retrospective cumulative analysis of clinical breast examination and mammogram screening services were performed using the national dataset of 2016-2020 obtained from the Health Informatics Centres, Ministry of Health Malaysia. The performance indicator represents the percentage of breast abnormality detected during clinical breast examination and the proportion of confirmed cancer through mammogram screening. A reduction in the participation rate for clinical breast examination was noted from 2016 (25.8%) to 2020(25.1%). However, a high participation rate in 2019 (29.1%) was noted following active health promotion intervention. The rate of high-risk women who underwent mammogram screening fluctuated by years according to active breast awareness campaign. The average rate of confirmed breast cancer annually was 0.7% and was noted highest in 2020 (1.17%). Improving early diagnosis is an eminent strategy for cancer control in all settings, including strengthening health systems and providing universal health coverage. Successful breast cancer prevention and control programs require intersectoral planning and active community participation. Ensuring sustainability and accessibility of breast cancer screening programs is highly needed. Fostering good collaborative multiagency partnership and community participation for the cancer control program urges an innovative approach through a policy formulation.

Breast Imaging Findings of Microcalcifications in Ductal Carcinoma in Situ and Their Correlations with Pathological and Biological Features

Background: Mammography (MMG) is the primary screening tool for breast cancer, as microcalcifications are the most common MMG finding in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The use of high-frequency transducers facilitates the visualization of calcifications on ultrasonography (USG), especially in patients with dense breasts and cancer symptoms. Although a correlation has been reported between the imaging features of DCIS and pathological features, few studies have focused on multiple imaging modalities. Objectives: To evaluate the correlation of DCIS microcalcifications in breast imaging with pathological and biological features. Patients and Methods: The MMG and USG findings of 125 lesions detected in 123 patients, diagnosed with pure DCIS, were retrospectively reviewed according to the breast imaging-reporting and data system (BI-RADS). The USG and comparable MMG findings of microcalcifications were divided into three groups: group 1 (MMG negative, USG negative), group 2 (MMG positive, USG negative), and group 3 (MMG positive, USG positive). The pathological findings (nuclear grade and comedo necrosis) and biological features [estrogen (ER) positive group, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive group, triple negative group, and Ki-67 index] were compared with the MMG and USG features using Chi-square test. Results: Microcalcifications were observed on MMG in 83 (66.4%) DCIS lesions. Positive microcalcifications on MMG were significantly associated with a high nuclear grade (P = 0.001) and comedo necrosis (P = 0.001). Positive microcalcifications on MMG were significantly associated with ER negativity (P = 0.023), HER2 positivity (P = 0.002), and increased Ki-67 index (P = 0.001). There were 62 lesions (49.6%) without microcalcifications on USG (group 1 and group 2), while there were 63 (50.4%) lesions with microcalcifications on USG (group 3). Positive microcalcifications on MMG were significantly associated with ER-negative group (P = 0.023), HER2-positive group (P = 0.002), and increased Ki 67 index (P = 0.001). Conclusion: Based on the present results, DCIS microcalcifications detected via imaging were significantly associated with poor prognostic pathological factors, such as a high nuclear grade and comedo necrosis, as well as poor prognostic biological factors, including ER negativity, HER2 positive group, and a high Ki-67 index.

Breast Self-examination: Knowledge, Attitude and Practice among Female College Students

In low–middle-income countries, breast self-examination (BSE) is a simple, practicable, and appropriate tool for breast cancer screening. The goal of this study was to analyze female college students' knowledge and practice of BSE. A cross-sectional study of 200 female students was done using a convenient sampling technique. The self administered questionnaire with the socio-demographic data, questions about knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding BSE was used to collect the data among the female college students of an educational institution. The descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyse the data. The results show that the level of knowledge on BSE among 77% of the girls was inadequate and 61% of them had negative practice towards BSE. Despite the good attitude (69%) about BSE, there was inadequate knowledge and practice. The participants' age and family history of breast cancer was positively associated with their attitude (p = 0.01) and knowledge (p= 0.05) respectively. The study recommends the mass awareness campaigns related to BSE and early detection of breast cancer to be given to improve the knowledge, attitude and practice of the women and thereby reduce the related morbidity and mortality.

Radiomic Evaluations of the Diagnostic Performance of DM, DBT, DCE MRI, DWI, and Their Combination for the Diagnosisof Breast Cancer.

ObjectivesThis study aims to evaluate digital mammography (DM), digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE), and diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI, individually and combined, for the values in the diagnosis of breast cancer, and propose a visualized clinical-radiomics nomogram for potential clinical uses.MethodsA total of 120 patients were enrolled between September 2017 and July 2018, all underwent preoperative DM, DBT, DCE, and DWI scans. Radiomics features were extracted and selected using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression. A radiomics nomogram was constructed integrating the radiomics signature and important clinical predictors, and assessed with the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA).ResultsThe radiomics signature derived from DBT plus DM generated a lower area under the ROC curve (AUC) and sensitivity, but a higher specificity compared with that from DCE plus DWI. The nomogram integrating the combined radiomics signature, age, and menstruation status achieved the best diagnostic performance in the training (AUCs, nomogram vs. combined radiomics signature vs. clinical model, 0.975 vs. 0.964 vs. 0.782) and validation (AUCs, nomogram vs. combined radiomics signature vs. clinical model, 0.983 vs. 0.978 vs. 0.680) cohorts. DCA confirmed the potential clinical usefulness of the nomogram.ConclusionsThe DBT plus DM provided a lower AUC and sensitivity, but a higher specificity than DCE plus DWI for detecting breast cancer. The proposed clinical-radiomics nomogram has diagnostic advantages over each modality, and can be considered as an efficient tool for breast cancer screening.

A Computational Method for the Estimation of the Geometrical and Thermophysical Properties of Tumor Using Contact Thermometry

Abstract Contact thermometry is the measurement of surface temperature using sensors in contact with the medium. These surface temperatures can be potential indicators of any abnormality possibly a tumor. This research work aims to present a computation method that makes use of contact thermometry to estimate the geometric center, size, and thermophysical properties of breast tumor. Wearable thermal sensors captured real-time surface temperature readings from discrete point locations. The continuous heat distribution over the domain was formulated using forward heat transfer analysis. The optimization method estimated tumor parameters of the breast, and a three-dimensional thermal model was developed from the estimated parameters. Laboratory experiments on breast phantoms were done to validate the estimation method. Furthermore, real-time temperature readings of human subjects were recorded, and the estimated location and size were then compared with the mammogram results. It was found that the estimated two-dimensional geometric center and the size in diameter of the tumor closely match with the mammogram results. Further, the thermophysical properties estimated using the proposed method had a higher order in subjects having a tumor making it a tool for breast cancer screening.

Abstract PS2-44: Correlation of thermalytix - an artificial intelligence based thermal breast screening tool in detecting a breast lesion as benign, malignant or normal

Abstract Aim: To correlate results of Thermalytix - an artificial intelligence (AI) based breast screening tool with mammography and the final diagnosis as established by histopathology Introduction: Screening and early diagnosis has proved to be useful in improving clinical outcome and survival of breast cancer patients. Mammography, the only breast cancer screening modality approved is not accessible or economically sustainable in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Thermalytix, an artificial intelligence (AI) based breast cancer screening tool is low cost, portable and radiation free and uses AI-based techniques to analyze and interpret breast thermal images captured using a high-resolution infrared camera. Areas of high thermal activity are identified using relative temperature thresholding while vascular structures are analyzed using a novel image processing technique. These hotspots and vascular patterns are further analyzed to extract a set of features that are input to 3 pre-trained machine learning models to generate quantitative scores. The final scores generated based on these parameters are used to label a breast lesion as malignant, benign or normal at first screening. In this study, we present a comparative analysis of the results of thermalytix and mammography with final diagnosis as established by histopathological diagnosis. Methods:In this retrospective study, 65 patients who had undergone biopsy and histopathological examination of breast for symptoms such as breast lump, pain or discharge were recruited. Each patient had mammography and the non-invasive Thermalytix test done as a preliminary screening modality prior to biopsy. Automated results generated by Thermaytix were then independently compared with the histopathological diagnosis retrospectively. Similarly, the mammography results were also compared with the biopsy findings to compare the coherence of each modalities in detecting breast lesion independently. Results:Out of the 65 symptomatic patients who were followed up by biopsy for any suspicious lesion 48/65 were neoplastic with 37/65 malignant lesions 11/65 benign lesions. Rest 17/65 patients were non-neoplastic comprising of 13/65 inflammatory cases and 4/65 normal cases. 1.Thermalytix detected 31/37 malignant cases while mammography detected 35/37 as malignant. 2.Among benign lesions thermalytix came out positive for 6/11 cases while mammography did so in 10/11 cases. 3.For inflammatory cases thermalytix and mammography raised a suspicion for malignancy in 10/13 and 11/13 cases respectively. 4.All 4 cases which were normal on biopsy were all labelled as suspicious by mammography while 3 were labelled as suspicious by thermalytix. Conclusion:This preliminary study shows that thermalytix fared well with radiological findings in detecting breast lesions as benign, malignant or normal. The findings were somewhat skewed in favour of radiological findings as mammography was done as the primary screening test before the patients underwent biopsy and histopathological examination for any suspicious lesion. Thermalytix can act as a low cost, portable and radiation-free test that can be of great help in detecting neoplastic lesions of breast at first screening in in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where mammography is not accessible or economically scalable. With its automated scoring and annotations of potential neoplastic lesion Thermalytix is poised to be a promising modality for breast cancer screening in future. Citation Format: Chandan Kumar, Lakshmi Krishnan, Himanshu Madhu, Geetha Manjunath. Correlation of thermalytix - an artificial intelligence based thermal breast screening tool in detecting a breast lesion as benign, malignant or normal [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS2-44.