Medical professionals are lucky enough now to be provided with a wide variety of tools to make the diagnosis of breast cancer more reliable during its early stages. This is great news because it increases the odds of keeping the level of breast cancer severity down.
Diagnosis begins with a clinical exam. The physician performs an exam using his hands which is similar to the recommended self-exam for all women over 19. Cancerous lumps typically feel hard and don’t move around like benign cysts. Cancer tumors usually have an irregular shape, while non cancerous lumps are round. Professionals are trained to distinguish the difference.
A mammogram will help confirm the diagnosis. Modern digital mammograms are often computer assisted. Detection of tumors is aided by complex algorithms that do a good job of differentiating suspect image sections. This new tool greatly enhances the ability to eliminate false positives and to detect smaller, less obvious problems in the early stage of development.
Ultrasound is another modern tool that has been improved since its introduction. They’re excellent at helping to distinguish between a benign cyst and a cancer tumor. Since cysts are harmless, fluid-filled sacs they react to sound waves differently than do the harder, denser cancer cells.
MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imaging is another method used to diagnose breast cancer. Years ago it was unheard of for an insurance company to pay for this extremely pricey test. But recently costs have become lower and coverage has expanded. It is now more common. This machine works by passing a powerful magnetic field over the breasts, thus exciting the molecules in a way that does not harm the body, but still produces very distinctive results. This allows professionals to use images generated with an MRI to detect extremely small abnormalities and issues.
When other tests indicate that a closer look is needed a biopsy is typically performed. A biopsy can be as simple as a fine-needle aspiration where a tiny amount of fluid is removed using a needle from the detected breast lump. That fluid is then examined for cancerous cells.
A deeper, or core biopsy is sometimes in order for certain cases. This too uses a needle but one that is thicker and removes tissue. More tissue is removed in a surgical biopsy. The sample is examined by an oncologist who is looking for cancerous cells.
The QM-MSP (quantitative multiplex methylation specific PCR) was developed at John Hopkins. IT is a test that offers promise of an even more accurate early diagnosis. This test relies on fluids that have been drawn from the breast. The fluid is then chemically analyzed. If there are abnormally high levels of specific molecules then the presence of cancer cells can be assumed. Some studies have shown that clusters with as few as 50 cancer cells can be detected this way. It was able to detect cancer in 84% of breast tumor samples that were used.
Utilizing modern techniques and tests, diagnosis can be done in the early cancer stages with much better reliability than in the past. This is necessary in treating breast cancer at the earliest possible stage. Early treatment greatly improves the odds of keeping it from becoming a more serious issue than necessary.