Camera May Help Detect Breast Cancer

A tiny camera the size of a pencil tip is letting physicians take an inside look at women’s milk ducts, where the majority of breast cancers start developing.

The new investigational technology may allow for comprehensive screening of patients with multiple risk factors for developing breast cancer, said Dr. Anthony Lucci, surgical oncologist at the Breast Care Center at Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital.

Dr. Lucci is currently using the ductoscope, developed by Acueity Inc., and plans to use it as part of an upcoming clinical trial. If the ductoscope proves to be effective, women with a strong family history of breast cancer could be regularly screened with the device for early detection of cancer.

Finding cancer at an earlier stage significantly increases the chance of surviving breast cancer, Dr. Lucci said.

The ductoscope works like a miniature endoscope and is inserted through the nipple and threaded through the duct system. Images of the ducts are projected onto a monitor, giving the physician a view of possible abnormalities. If necessary, biopsies can be taken at the same time.

At least three quarters of breast cancers begin in the duct system, said Dr. Lucci, assistant professor of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine.

"In the future, ductoscopy could help us screen patients who have a genetic predisposition to cancer," Dr. Lucci said. "If abnormalities are detected, we can recommend the appropriate treatment before the disease fully develops."

In the past, fluid was obtained by prolonged massage which was not effective in collecting adequate fluid to evaluate. Patients who undergo the ductoscope procedure generally report it is not painful, Dr. Lucci said.

FAST FACTS

• Breast cancer is the deadliest form of cancer in U.S. women
• In the United States, a woman has about a 13 percent lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. An average woman’s chance of getting breast cancer is about one in 235 by age 40, one in 25 by age 50 and 1 in 15 by age 80.
• This year, it is estimated that 193,706 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer (one every 3 minutes) and 40,600 women will die of breast cancer (one every 13 minutes). Additionally, 1,400 men will develop breast cancer, and 400 will die.
• Approximately three-quarters of patients with breast cancer will be cured.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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