X-ray Mammography Research Articles

Crystalline texture and mammography energy range detection studies of pyrolysed lead iodide films: Effects of solution concentration

Semiconductor lead iodide (PbI2) films have been extensively studied due to their potential applications in room temperature ionizing radiation detectors. The influence of PbI2 solution concentration on the final properties of the films grown by spray pyrolysis was investigated. The solution concentration was varied in the range of 10 g/l up to 50 g/l. Total deposition time of 2.5 h was used and average growth rate varying from 22 Å s−1 up to 62 Å s−1 was obtained as a function of solution concentration. X-ray diffraction was used to investigate the structural properties of the films. Variations in microstructure as a function of solution concentration were studied using crystal texture calculations. The smallest value of electrical resistivity was obtained for the largest solution concentration. Mammographic X-ray irradiation from 10 mR up to 1450 mR was carried out with equivalent photon energy at 14 keV and the sensor results are discussed.

Intralesional hyaluronic acid: an innovative treatment for Peyronie's disease.

The significantly different effects of several conservative treatments for Peyronie's disease (PD) led us to conduct this study to evaluate the effectiveness of local treatment with injectable hyaluronic acid (HA) for patients with this disease. The study included 83 PD patients who underwent treatment and 81 PD patients who did not (control group). The inclusion criteria were: penile plaque volume <1 cm(3); clinical characteristics and ultrasonographic appearance compatible with active inflammation; and penile curvature <45°. The medical history of all PD patients was collected. Patients undertook six tests: routine laboratory tests; penile auto-photography during erection; dynamic penile colour-duplex ultrasound study; penile X-ray (mammography technique); index of erectile function questionnaire (IIEF); and pain intensity questionnaire (visual analog scale). Treated patients received thirty penile infiltrations by injection of 20 mg HA in 6 months. Follow-up checks were conducted at the end of treatment and 12 and 24 months after treatment. At 12-month follow-up all treated PD patients had experienced three statistically significant outcomes: reduction in plaque size (-93.7 %, p < 0.0001); improvement in penile curvature (-9.01°, p < 0.0001); and improvement in penile rigidity (mean IIEF score +3.8) with an average increase of 21.1 % (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, the improvements remained substantially stable at 24-month follow-up. Considering the minimally invasive approach in this study, the absence of major side effects, and the significant treatment outcomes achieved, we conclude that intralesional penile injections with HA are effective for treating Peyronie's disease.

The unique sound production of the Death's-head hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos (Linnaeus, 1758)) revisited.

When disturbed, adults of the Death's-head hawkmoth (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae: Acherontia atropos) produce short squeaks by drawing in and deflating air into and out of the pharynx as a defence mechanism. We took a new look at Prell's hypothesis of a two-phase mechanism by providing new insights into the functional morphology behind the pharyngeal sound production of this species. First, we compared the head anatomy of A. atropos with another sphingid species, Manduca sexta, by using micro-computed tomography (CT) and 3D reconstruction methods. Despite differences in feeding behaviour and capability of sound production in the two species, the musculature in the head is surprisingly similar. However, A. atropos has a much shorter proboscis and a modified epipharynx with a distinct sclerotised lobe projecting into the opening of the pharynx. Second, we observed the sound production in vivo with X-ray videography, mammography CT and high-speed videography. Third, we analysed acoustic pressure over time and spectral frequency composition of six A. atropos specimens, both intact and with a removed proboscis. Single squeaks of A. atropos last for ca. 200 ms and consist of an inflation phase, a short pause and a deflation phase. The inflation phase is characterised by a burst of ca. 50 pulses with decreasing pulse frequency and a major frequency peak at ca. 8 kHz, followed by harmonics ranging up to more than 60 kHz. The deflation phase is characterised by a less clear acoustic pattern, a lower amplitude and more pronounced peaks in the same frequency range. The removal of the proboscis resulted in a significantly shortened squeak, a lower acoustic pressure level and a slightly more limited frequency spectrum. We hypothesise that the uptake of viscous honey facilitated the evolution of an efficient valve at the opening of the pharynx (i.e. a modified epipharynx), and that sound production could relatively easily have evolved based on this morphological pre-adaptation.

Controlled study of gadobenate dimeglumine versus gadopentetate in breast tumor MR dynamic enhancement scanning

To compare the differences in diagnosing breast lesions between gadobenate (Gd-DTPA) and gadopentetate dimeglumine (Gd-BOPTA) in MR dynamic enhancement scanning. Continuous collection patients because of breast lesions from General Hospital of Lanzhou Command PLA in August 2012 to December 2014. Fifty-three women with breast lesions detected by clinical touch or by X-ray mammography and ultrasound examination were included. The patients were randomly injected with equivalent dose of Gd-BOPTA or Gd-DTPA. Two dynamic enhanced scanning were performed on the 3.0 T MR scanner separated by 48 to 72 hours and eight phases were collected 25 seconds after the injection. Analysis was done double-blinded to find out the lesions, make differential diagnosis, and to compare with the histopathology. Among the 87 lesions diagnosed by postoperative pathological detection, more lesions were detected by Gd-BOPTA than by Gd-DTPA, 83/87 (95.4%) vs 69/87 (79.3%) (P < 0.01), respectively, the difference is statistically significant. In the detection of malignant lesions, the sensitivity was 96.3% and 76.3%, and the specificity was 78.1% and 68.7%, for Gd-BOPTA and Gd-DTPA, respectively. Gd-BOPTA was better for the detection of breast lesions and differential diagnosis of benign and malignant lesions than Gd-DTPA. Especially, Gd-BOPTA is obviously better than Gd-DTPA in detection of breast nodules, and the lesions with weak strengthening effect or located inconspicuously.

Optical imaging for breast cancer prescreening.

Breast cancer prescreening is carried out prior to the gold standard screening using X-ray mammography and/or ultrasound. Prescreening is typically carried out using clinical breast examination (CBE) or self-breast examinations (SBEs). Since CBE and SBE have high false-positive rates, there is a need for a low-cost, noninvasive, non-radiative, and portable imaging modality that can be used as a prescreening tool to complement CBE/SBE. This review focuses on the various hand-held optical imaging devices that have been developed and applied toward early-stage breast cancer detection or as a prescreening tool via phantom, in vivo, and breast cancer imaging studies. Apart from the various optical devices developed by different research groups, a wide-field fiber-free near-infrared optical scanner has been developed for transillumination-based breast imaging in our Optical Imaging Laboratory. Preliminary in vivo studies on normal breast tissues, with absorption-contrasted targets placed in the intramammary fold, detected targets as deep as 8.8 cm. Future work involves in vivo imaging studies on breast cancer subjects and comparison with the gold standard X-ray mammography approach.

A Microstrip Patch Antenna Design for Breast Cancer Detection

Breast cancer affects many women and has fatal conclusions if it does not cure correctly. Early diagnosis is the most important parameter to detect and interfere with cancer tissue. Some of methods for breast cancer detection are X-ray mammography, MRI and ultrasound. However, they have some limitations. For example; between 4 and 34% of all breast cancers are missed because of poor malignant/benign cancer tissue contrast. Microwave imaging to detect breast cancer is a promising method and there are many works in this area. All materials have different permittivity and conductivity. In this work, a 3D breast structure has different permittivity and conductivity is modelled in HFSS by using Finite Element Method (FEM) to solve electromagnetic field values and a microstrip patch antenna operating at 2.45GHz is designed and substrate material is FR4 (ɛr = 4.4 F/m). Slotting on microstrip patch and modifying ground plane, imaging quality is increased. About this, electric field, magnetic field distribution and current density on the antenna are evaluated.

Robot guidance of an ultrasound probe toward a 3D region of interest detected through X-ray mammography.

This research is situated in the context of breast cancer detection where the standard procedure is the succession of an initial mammography (MX) examination and a supplementary ultrasound (US) scan. One major difficulty of this procedure results from the fact that breast geometry changes between both examinations due to different patient's positions. The proposed system facilitates this combined examination by keeping the breast geometry and by adding a US probe guidance robot to the mammography system. A comanipulation system is set up where the robot and user simultaneously manipulate the probe toward the target previously localized in MX images. Calibration procedures and robot control are detailed. A test protocol was presented to conduct two tests that are both related to the medical application. The first tests aim at evaluating robot guidance for localizing a lesion which was previously defined in the X-ray images. The second tests aim at quantifying robot influence when scanning a target lesion. The studied task consists of a pointing/scanning exercise, where the US beam intersects a breast lesion. The experiments show a significant increase in examination quality when using robot guidance as compared to the nonassisted examination.

Breast MRI in detecting primary malignancy of patients presenting with axillary metastases and negative X-ray mammography

Objective To evaluate the role of breast MRI in detecting the primary malignancy in patients presenting solely with axillary lymph node metastases. Methods Thirty-three patients with axillary lynph node metastases but negative findings on either physical examination or mammography underwent breast MRI to identify occult breast carcinoma. MRI of the breast was assessed according to BI-RADS criteria. The pathologic diagnosis was made according to the standard criteria by the WHO Classification of Tumor. Results Among 33 patients presenting solely with axillary metastases, 30 patients underwent modified radical mastectomy. Primary breast carcinoma was proven in 17 patients. MRI detected lesions in 16 patients, including 10 masses and 6 non-mass lesions. Size of the masses ranged from 0. 5 to 2. 6 cm (mean 1.5 cm). Six lesions were smaller than 1.5 cm in size. Non-mass lesions showed ductal enhancement in 4 cases and segmental enhancement in 2 cases. One patient with tumor detected by histopathology showed no abnormal enhancement on MRI. No tumor was found at mastectomy in the other 13 womeu, and negative MR findings were revealed in 9. Four cases with suspicious enhancement on MRI had no corresponding primary foci on pathology. Three patients didn't undergo surgical procedure. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of MRI in the diagnosis of the primary malignancy were 94. 1%,69. 2%, and 83.3%, respectively. Conclusions Small size of mass and ductal or segmental enhancement of non-mass lesion were common MR features of occult malignancy. MRI showed high sensitivity and accuracy in diagnosing occult breast carcinoma. Breast MRI should be taken in search of occult malignancy in patients with axillary metastases. Key words: Breast neoplasms; Neoplasm metastasis; Lymph nodes; Magnetic resonance imaging

Novel automatic first-arrival picking method for ultrasound sound-speed tomography

Ultrasound sound-speed tomography (USST) is a promising technique for breast cancer diagnosis that is currently under investigation. Compared with two-dimensional X-ray mammography, it not only provides three-dimensional images but also avoids radiation exposure. However, the image quality of USST is highly dependent on the accuracy of travel time map (TTM). To improve the accuracy, a novel automatic first-arrival picking method is proposed in this study. With this method, Akaike information criterion is used to obtain travel time roughly, then cross-correlation of neighboring traces is employed to correct the obtained travel time. Simulation, phantom, and ex vivo experiments are implemented. The simulation experiments showed that the absolute errors of the proposed method were 52 and 98 ns for simple and complex structure data, respectively. The phantom and ex vivo experiments demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed method. In this study, a novel and robust first-arrival picking method was proposed for USST.

The study of medical image enhancement based on curvelet.

Breast cancer is a tumor that begins in the breast tissue and is largely identified through X-ray imaging; however, human tissue, illumination, noise and other factors make the image's calcifications and masses unclear, which in turn affects the doctors' identification of lesions and normal tissue through X-ray imaging. Therefore, the rate of misdiagnoses can be reduced through the enhancement of X-ray images that make the images' calcifications and masses more prominent. Enhancing the breast image would highlight the calcifications and masses. One such way to do so is to use a curvelet that can detect curves and can, therefore, enhance the tumor characteristics. Essentially, existing methods perform a curvelet transform on each sub-image simultaneously; as the curvelet is based on the Radon transform, it involves complex computation and can easily result in difficulties. Based on this information, this article improved the algorithm that detects edges by curvelet and refines edges by wavelet. Simulation experiments using mammography X-ray images are implemented through Matlab. The results suggest that, after implementation of the improved algorithm, the image's edges and textures are clear, the calcifications are independent, and there is no caking. The curvelet method is imporved in efficacy with respect to the wavelet method.

An evaluation of a novel synthetic diamond probe for dosimetric applications

Abstract A study is presented that characterises the dosimetric performances of two synthetic diamond sensors (HP1 and HP2) when either one or both detectors are subjected to clinical beams of various types under large as well as small-field conditions. Detector performances were evaluated using a prototype probe housing constructed of tissue-equivalent materials. The probe can accommodate diamond sensors of various sizes and is configured for radiation detection in different exposure orientations without having first to re-orient the sensor plate within its body. Also, the diamond sensor is aligned in the same configuration as its rectangular housing and the probe is designed to be compatible with commercially available electrometer systems. Dosimetric measurements were conducted using mammography X-rays (25–32 kVp) and megavoltage electron (6–21 MeV) and photon (60Co γ-ray, 6–18 MV X-ray) beams. Whereas HP1 was evaluated using all beam types under large-flied conditions and small-photon-beam fields down to 0.7×0.7 cm2, HP2 was evaluated using small-electron and photon-beam conditions down to 0.3×0.3 cm2 6 MV photon field. Using HP1 sensor, the synthetic diamond probe was found not to require daily pre-irradiation as long as it is properly shielded from ambient light and its response stabilised. Furthermore, the diamond probe exhibited linear response characteristics with absorbed dose and on exposure parameters to various beam types, negligible energy dependence and almost no variation in angular response. Exposing the sensor HP2 under a 0.4×0.4 cm2 6 MV photon radiation field, a sensitivity value of 197.3 nC Gy−1 mm−3 was established compared to a value of 136.1 nC Gy−1 mm−3 obtained with a small-field diode detector. Also, a figure of 5.5×103 for the SNR was established for the sensor in the same radiation field. Relative beam data measured with the diamond sensors were found to agree within 1–2% with data obtained with reference detectors. The presentation illustrates that once a suitable diamond sensor is incorporated into the probe’s housing, then near-tissue equivalent synthetic diamond probe could be utilized as a multi-purpose radiation detector for the clinical dosimetry of various beam types under large as well as small radiation fields.

Characterization of structural-prior guided optical tomography using realistic breast models derived from dual-energy x-ray mammography.

Multi-spectral near-infrared diffuse optical tomography (DOT) is capable of providing functional tissue assessment that can complement structural mammographic images for more comprehensive breast cancer diagnosis. To take full advantage of the readily available sub-millimeter resolution structural information in a multi-modal imaging setting, an efficient x-ray/optical joint image reconstruction model has been proposed previously to utilize anatomical information from a mammogram as a structural prior. In this work, we develop a complex digital breast phantom (available at http://openjd.sf.net/digibreast) based on direct measurements of fibroglandular tissue volume fractions using dual-energy mammographic imaging of a human breast. We also extend our prior-guided reconstruction algorithm to facilitate the recovery of breast tumors, and perform a series of simulation-based studies to systematically evaluate the impact of lesion sizes and contrasts, tissue background, mesh resolution, inaccurate priors, and regularization parameters, on the recovery of breast tumors using multi-modal DOT/x-ray measurements. Our studies reveal that the optical property estimation error can be reduced by half by utilizing structural priors; the minimum detectable tumor size can also be reduced by half when prior knowledge regarding the tumor location is provided. Moreover, our algorithm is shown to be robust to false priors on tumor location.

Dedicated breast computed tomography: Basic aspects

X-ray mammography of the compressed breast is well recognized as the "gold standard" for early detection of breast cancer, but its performance is not ideal. One limitation of screening mammography is tissue superposition, particularly for dense breasts. Since 2001, several research groups in the USA and in the European Union have developed computed tomography (CT) systems with digital detector technology dedicated to x-ray imaging of the uncompressed breast (breast CT or BCT) for breast cancer screening and diagnosis. This CT technology--tracing back to initial studies in the 1970s--allows some of the limitations of mammography to be overcome, keeping the levels of radiation dose to the radiosensitive breast glandular tissue similar to that of two-view mammography for the same breast size and composition. This paper presents an evaluation of the research efforts carried out in the invention, development, and improvement of BCT with dedicated scanners with state-of-the-art technology, including initial steps toward commercialization, after more than a decade of R&D in the laboratory and/or in the clinic. The intended focus here is on the technological/engineering aspects of BCT and on outlining advantages and limitations as reported in the related literature. Prospects for future research in this field are discussed.

Volumetric hand-held optoacoustic angiography as a tool for real-time screening of dense breast.

Existing mammographic screening solutions are generally associated with several major drawbacks, such as exposure to ionizing radiation or insufficient sensitivity in younger populations with radiographically-dense breast. Even when combined with ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging, X-Ray mammography may still attain unspecific or false positive results. Thus, development of new breast imaging tools represents a timely medical challenge. We report on a new approach to high-resolution functional and anatomical breast angiography using volumetric hand-held optoacoustic tomography, which employs light intensities safe for human use. Experiments in young healthy volunteers with fibroglandular-dominated dense breasts revealed the feasibility of rendering three-dimensional images representing vascular anatomy and functional blood oxygenation parameters at video rate. Sufficient contrast was achieved at depths beyond 2 cm within dense breasts without compromising the real-time imaging performance. The suggested solution may thus find applicability as a standalone or supplemental screening tool for early detection and follow-up of carcinomas in radiographically-dense breasts. Volumetric handheld optoacoustic tomography scanner uses safe pulses of near-infrared light to render three-dimensional images of deep vascular anatomy, blood oxygenation and breast parenchyma at video rate.

Clinical photoacoustic breast imaging: the Twente experience.

Globally, breast cancer is the most frequently occurring malignancy in women and the leading cause of cancer deaths, with up to half a million women dying of the disease in 2008. Early detection and accurate diagnosis of breast cancer is crucial for optimizing survival chances, with imaging technologies playing a major role. X-ray mammography (XRM) and ultrasound (US) imaging, however, suffer from nonoptimal sensitivity and specificity. Furthermore, X-ray mammography uses ionizing radiation and painful breast compression and has poor performance in dense breasts. For US imaging, interoperator dependence and poor soft tissue contrast are drawbacks.

Technical Advancements to Mobile Mammography Using Nonlinear Polynomial Filters and IEEE 21451-1 NCAP Information Model

Mobile mammography programs provide a vast access to breast cancer screening and also ensure participation from remote areas, which are generally deprived of fixed centers. However, there exists limitations to provide on the spot analysis and diagnosis by experienced radiologists. The rapid development of ISO/IEC/IEEE 21451-x Standards has lead to the emergence of smart biomedical devices for screening and detection of life threatening diseases. IEEE 21451-1 provides for networking of these smart transducers, yielding economical and reliable solutions for diverse measurements, control, and clinical applications. This paper proposes the technical advancements to mobile mammography by integrating smart transducer interface and network capable application processor (NCAP) information modules with digital mammography (X-ray) units. The digital data extracted by the hardware interface is processed using Type-0 and Type-I nonlinear polynomial filters (NPF) for improving the contrast of the region-of-interest as well as signal-to-noise ratios. The NPF serves as a postprocessing module, providing enhancement of mammograms for the purpose of precise analysis and diagnosis by radiologists. The enhanced mammograms are then transmitted to a remote monitoring station via NCAP through an optical fiber or satellite communication link. The proposed model yields a network as well as vendor-independent transducer interfaces for remote screening/diagnosis of breast cancer patients.

Abstract OT2-4-01: A prospective study of glycoprotein 88 GP-88 blood test in healthy women with Gail model risk &amp;lt;=1.66 undergoing screening for breast cancer (BC) with mammography (MM)

Abstract Background: In the US, the majority of BC is diagnosed by screening XRAY mammography (MM) but up to ∼20% of BC are undetected by MM. The development of reliable, blood-based BC screening test to increase the sensitivity and specificity of currently existing BC screening methods such as MM. Rationale: GP88 is expressed &amp; secreted by BC cells &amp; is not expressed by normal mammary epithelial cells. Two retrospective randomized multi-site trials (one training study &amp; one validating study with about 300 cases each) have demonstrated that elevated GP88 expression in ER+ IDC was statistically correlated with a 4-fold increase in the risk of 5-yr disease recurrence. Multivariate analysis showed that GP88 as a risk predictor was independent from PR expression, tumor size, grade, lymph node status &amp; disease stage. The quantitative GP88 EIA developed to determine the amount of GP88 in biological fluids was developed at A&amp;G. The assay is highly specific for GP88 &amp; both sensitive &amp; linear over a wide dynamic range, i.e. detection of GP88 concentrations from 0.1 to 20ng/ml. A baseline (28.4 ± 5 ng/ml) was established for healthy volunteers (HV). In BC pts a statistically significant increase of serum GP88 was seen for early stage pts (40.7 ± 16 ng/ml; p=0.007). Additionally, a stratification of pts according to their clinical outcomes shows that pts having no evidence of disease (NED) have serum GP88 levels within the range of HV. These data suggest that pts with breast tumors express &amp; secrete high levels of GP88. Objectives: 1. To determine prospectively GP-88 blood levels in HV at average risk of developing BC who are undergoing screening MM &amp; in women with biopsy-confirmed BC. 2. To establish the statistical distribution of GP88 serum levels in these women by baseline BIRAD classification (1-6). 3. To determine if baseline GP88 level is predictive of change in BIRADS classification from baseline to 12-mos follow-up. 4. To determine if baseline GP88 level is predictive of the appearance of BC at 12 mos follow-up in HV who were cancer-free at baseline. Inclusion Criteria: Female, aged &amp;gt;=40 yrs old, presenting to UM Breast Center for screening MM or for diagnostic MM or diagnostic workup and/or biopsy due to BIRADS 0 MM at an outside facility &amp;lt;= to 12 wks; Gail model assessment of risk of developing BC&amp;lt;=1.66. Study procedures: Serum levels of GP88 in subjects with average BC risk factors will be measured prospectively at baseline; 3-6 mos &amp; 6-12 mos. &amp; correlated with BIRADS reading of the screening MM, BIRADS 1 or 2 (benign), BIRADS 3 (short term MM follow-up) &amp; BIRADS 4 or 5 (suspicious and tissue diagnosis needed immediately). GP88 blood level will be correlated with pathologic results of breast biopsies performed on subjects with suspicious BIRADS (4 &amp; 5) MM &amp; final pathologically confirmed diagnosis of BC as BIRADS 6. Statistical Considerations The total number of pts will be 725 &amp; screened up to 1400 subjects. Study is UM IRB approved &amp; just started accruing. Funding is provided by Maryland Industry Partnership Grant (MIPS)&amp; Avon Grant No. 02-2013-018. Contact: Ntait@umm.edu. Citation Format: Katherine HR Tkaczuk, Cristina Campassi, Susan Kesmodel, Emily Bellavance, John Olson, Elizabeth Nichols, Steven J Feigenberg, Binbin Yue, David Hicks, Ginette Serrero. A prospective study of glycoprotein 88 GP-88 blood test in healthy women with Gail model risk &amp;lt;=1.66 undergoing screening for breast cancer (BC) with mammography (MM) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr OT2-4-01.

Computer-Aided Breast Tumor Segmentation

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers diagnosed among the middle aged women. The rate of curacy depends on how well and early the tumor has been detected. One of the most effective methods of breast tumor segmentation is by using x-ray mammography. The accuracy of the results varies with the experience of the radiologists and the quality of the mammograms. In order to overcome these drawbacks a computer aided system has been developed that can accurately identify, position and segment the tumor. General Terms Tumor, Segmentation, Computer-aided.

Spatial Dose Distribution and Exposure Dose During Mammography

This during the breast mammography X-ray test, a glass dosimeter and spatial dose measuring meter was used to measure and evaluate the exposure dose and spatial dose distribution of each organs by exposure dose and scattered ray in order to obtain the optimal image for diagnosis and minimize the exposure dose. The usage dose of tube voltage and tube current amount was larger among the young age group, whereas the transmission dose, the glandular dose, etc. were larger among the old age group (<0.001). The influence of dose inequality phenomenon was confirmed since the exposure dose and spatial scattered dose by the scattered ray has increased as they got closer to the X-ray tube cathode and toward the direction of X-ray irradiation. Such results are expected to be presented as data for anticipating the exposure dose of patients and determining a test method during a breast cancer test in the future and also utilized widely as basic important data for reducing the medical exposure dose. Keywords: Exposure Dose, Glass Dosimeter, Mammography, Minimize, X-Ray

Broadband optical mammography: chromophore concentration and hemoglobin saturation contrast in breast cancer.

This study reports the optical characterization and quantitative oximetry of human breast cancer using spectrally-resolved images collected with a broadband, continuous-wave optical mammography instrument. On twenty-six cancer patients, we collected two-dimensional optical mammograms and created maps of the concentrations of hemoglobin, water, and lipids, as well as the oxygen saturation of hemoglobin. For each cancerous breast, we analyzed the difference between the tumor region (as identified by x-ray and optical mammography) and the remainder of breast tissue. With respect to the surrounding tissue, we found that cancer regions have significantly higher concentrations of total hemoglobin (+2.4±0.4 μM) and water (+7±1% v/v), and significantly lower lipid concentration (8±2% v/v) and oxygen saturation of hemoglobin (5±1%). We also found a significant correlation between the tumor optical contrast and the grade of breast cancer as quantified by the Nottingham histologic score; this demonstrates how optical signatures may be representative of metabolic and morphological features, as well as the aggressive potential of the tumor.