Positron Emission Mammography: Improving Breast Cancer Detection

Newsnote from BestHealth, September 2004

Currently, mammography reveals only 90 percent of breast cancers, and evaluating patients with atypical findings is a continuing challenge.

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is one of three centers in the country testing a new technology called Positron Emission Mammography (PEM). PEM is an adaptation of Positron Emission Tomography (PET), a highly successful technology for detecting cancers in the body. The portable PEM unit is used in conjunction with stereotactic needle biopsy to evaluate women with abnormal findings, and identifies not only the location and extent of the tumor, but also whether it is benign or malignant.

Initial results of the study have been very positive.