A breast scan that takes just seconds and avoids painful compressions could help Australian doctors uncover hidden cancers and spare some patients repeat surgery.
The Koning Vera cone beam breast CT scanner produces detailed three-dimensional images while women lie face down, with each breast scanned in about 10 seconds.
Doctors say it offers another option for women with dense breasts, and those avoiding mammograms because of discomfort.
Belinda Yates — who has undergone mammograms and breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after finding a lump — said the difference was immediate.
“This scan has been a game changer for me. I have very dense breast tissue. There’s no pain. The discomfort was non-existent,” she told 7NEWS.
Her earlier mammogram was a different experience.
“It was very crushing and quite painful,” she said.
Regulatory approval opens door to wider access
The technology reached a milestone in September, when the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved the system’s inclusion in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.
That allows commercial supply in Australia, opening the door for more clinics to adopt it.
Brisbane Radiology was the first Australian clinic to introduce the technology.
Clinic owner Angela Sclavos told 7NEWS: “It means that women can now go to their GP and all they require is a GP referral to come and have their imaging done.”
Finding cancers hidden in dense tissue
Breast surgeon Dr Beth Campbell said dense breast tissue could make cancers difficult to distinguish on mammograms.
She compared it with trying to see stars through cloud cover, explaining contrast enhanced imaging could help reveal what was hidden.
“What the contrast does is it gets rid of that cloud cover so we can actually see behind to detect cancers when they’re smaller.”
She recalled a patient who had a large lump, but a normal mammogram.
“The density on her mammogram was so intense that we actually couldn’t see anything.”
“So we put her through the cone beam scanner and when I eventually did her surgery, she had seven breast cancers in that breast.”
Helping surgeons plan treatment
Breast surgeon Dr Ben Green said the images could reveal that a cancer was more extensive than a standard mammogram suggested.
“We can see that extra disease and in a single operation we can change the actual nature of that surgery and reduce that need for a second operation,” Green told 7NEWS.
He said that MRI remains useful for some cancers, but could take 20 to 40 minutes and be difficult for patients with claustrophobia.
Campbell said more evidence in Australian patients was needed, stressing the scanner was an additional tool.
“I think it’s not going to replace mammography. It’s not going to replace MRI. It’s going to be another tool in our toolbox for picking up cancers early.”
Green believes it could only be a matter of time before there is a national rollout.
“It’s too early to say it’s going to replace mammograms, but I think in time it definitely will,” he said.
“We find the test invaluable and patient satisfaction speaks for itself.
“We’ve got a cohort of patients who refuse imaging because compression hurts, and we’ve got women then who would go undiagnosed and now getting access to early diagnosis.”
What does it cost?
Sclavos said eligible patients could receive a Medicare rebate, but it is a similar cost to a private mammogram.
“It’s around $300 for the out-of-pocket cost for this technology, as long as you’re eligible for the MBS,” Sclavos said.
Free screening mammograms remain available through BreastScreen Australia, without a GP referral.
Campbell hopes a scan without compression will encourage women who have been avoiding checks to come forward.
“The earlier we pick up breast cancers, the easier they are to treat,” she said.
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