5) Molecular breast imaging finds cancer that mammography misses

So we’ve established that ABUS is great for improving cancer detection, but what about molecular breast imaging? A retrospective study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology found that MBI can also spot cancers that mammography misses.



After undergoing a mammogram, 1,696 women with dense breasts received supplemental screening with Gamma Medica’s LumaGEM MBI system. MBI detected 13 malignancies that were hidden by mammography.

In May, Henry Ford Health System in Michigan launched a supplementary breast cancer screening program with LumaGEM. This is the first supplemental MBI program in the state, so the radiologists were trained at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

“Despite providing the best mammogram we can, we know that sensitivity is not 100 percent,” Dr. Patricia Miller, director of Henry Ford’s Breast Imaging Center, told HCB News at the time. “For women with dense breast tissue, it’s a much more sensitive exam. Adding this as an adjunct, it provides great peace of mind.”

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