Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans may predict a woman’s future risk of developing breast cancer, found a new study published Tuesday in Radiology.

Researchers reviewed screening breast MR images from high-risk women 18 years or older with no history of breast cancer and specifically looked for associations between cancer risk and imaging features, including breast density and background parenchymal enhancement (BPE). In MR images, BPE occurs when areas of normal background breast tissue appear white or enhanced. Previous research has suggested a possible link between BPE and cancer risk.

In the study, women who displayed elevated amounts of BPE were nine times more likely to have a breast cancer diagnosis, compared to those with little to no BPE.

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What is MRI/Ultrasound 3-D Fusion Biopsy? If an abnormality is detected on the MRI, we can now obtain a targeted biopsy of the suspicious region(s) with an MRI/Ultrasound 3-D Fusion Biopsy. This combines the tremendous anatomic detail of multi-parametric MRI with real-time ultrasound, allowing precise, image-driven prostate biopsies.

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“In cases where there is even the slightest doubt, and especially in women at increased risk, the obvious choice is MRI. Our study clearly shows the superiority of magnetic resonance imaging over mammography and breast ultrasound examinations,” says Thomas Helbich, who led the study with Christopher Riedl. “The superiority of MRI is also completely independent of the patient’s age, gene mutation status and breast density.”

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While non-invasive imaging technologies such as mammograms or CT scans are capable of detecting tumors, identifying whether they are malignant or benign usually involves getting out the scalpel and conducting a biopsy. Now researchers at Johns Hopkins University have developed a technique that uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to noninvasively detect cancerous cells, offering the potential of supplementing biopsies or maybe one day replacing them altogether.

The team’s study, conducted on test tube-grown cells and mice, took advantage of recent findings by other research groups indicating that glucose can be detected without the use of injectable dyes by a fine-tuned MRI technique. Because the outer membranes of certain cancerous cells shed sugar molecules, the Johns Hopkins researchers were able to use this technique to image cancerous cells.

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Breast cancer is formed in the tissues of breast. Some of the common symptoms for breast cancer are change in breast shape, lump in breast and dimpling of skin. Obesity, lack of physical exercise, hormone replacement therapy during menopause and drinking alcohol are some of the risk factors associated with breast cancer. Ductal carcinoma is the most common type of breast cancer which occurs in the lining of the milk ducts. Another type of breast cancer is lobular carcinoma. It occurs in the lobules. Mammography is a technique used for screening and diagnosis of breast with the help of device known as mammogram.

Mammography includes minimal radiation exposure which helps in protecting patients from harmful radiation side effects. The main purpose of mammography is to detect breast cancer and tumor in women. Mammogram also helps in visualization of normal and abnormal structures within the breast. Screening test is used when symptoms of breast cancer or tumor are not available whereas, diagnostics test is done to detect the causes of specific symptoms. These tests help in early treatment of disease and also help in curing diseases.

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Late Disease Diagnosis Giving Way to Early Detection

Some cancers are more deadly than others but the one common refrain heard with all cancers and all diseases is that, if caught early, chances of a full recovery are increased. Now a new technology promises that doctors will soon be able to find disease even before symptoms occur.

Prostate cancer, for example, is currently detectable through a “digital exam” or the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test. These methods have recently come under scrutiny as they often lead to false positive results and unneeded biopsies.

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A new medical imaging technique can help doctors better detect non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in children, new research suggests.

Five million to 8 million children in the United States have the condition, but most cases go undiagnosed, according to the University of California, San Diego researchers. Children with the disease have large droplets of fat in at least 5 percent of their liver cells.

Obesity and diabetes are risk factors for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which can lead to hepatitis, liver scarring, cirrhosis and liver cancer.

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Prostate biopsies that combine MRI technology with ultrasound appear to give men better information regarding the seriousness of their cancer, a new study suggests.

The new technology — which uses MRI scans to help doctors biopsy very specific portions of the prostate — diagnosed 30 percent more high-risk cancers than standard prostate biopsies in men suspected of prostate cancer, researchers reported.

These MRI-targeted biopsies also were better at weeding out low-risk prostate cancers that would not lead to a man’s death, diagnosing 17 percent fewer low-grade tumors than standard biopsy, said senior author Dr. Peter Pinto. He is head of the prostate cancer section at the U.S. National Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Research in Bethesda, Md.

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A study released on January 6, 2015 from the University of Iowa (UI) has linked: abnormalities of the cerebellum, differences in cerebral white matter, and bipolar disorder.

The study, “Brain Abnormalities in Bipolar Disorder Detected by Quantitative Tρ Mapping,” was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Casey Johnson, PhD, and University of Iowa postdoctoral research fellow was the first author on the study. John Wemmie, MD, PhD, and UI professor of psychiatry was the senior study author.

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