Molecular breast imaging (MBI) is the newest technology in breast cancer diagnosis. Under this technique a short-living radioactive agent is injected in patients. This radioactive agent is absorbed by breast tissue. Cancer cells absorb more of the radioactive agent than healthy cells. This agent is tracked with a specialized camera that can distinguish healthy tissue from breast cancer tumors.

The recent study carried out by researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota compared molecular breast imaging (MBI) to mammography. The result of the study showed that MBI can detect three times as many cancers in women whose mammograms show dense breast patterns and are at increased risk for breast cancer. Data collected from 940 women was analyzed in the study. These women met the following criteria- dense breasts and a high risk of cancer because of family history, bad genes or other reasons. Both methods were tried on these women.

Researchers detected 13 tumors in 12 patients. Eight out of these were detected by MBI alone, while one by mammography alone. Two tumors were detected by both techniques while two tumors remained undiscovered by both techniques. Researchers also found that the recall rates (the number of women who needed follow-up testing) were 7.7 percent for MBI as compared to 9.4 percent for mammography. Study showed that of the 36 biopsies prompted by MBI, 27.8 percent were positive for cancer; of the 17 biopsies prompted by mammography, 17.6 percent were positive for cancer.

Researchers added that the next test will compare the MBI to the MRI. The study will compare the two in 120 high-risk women with dense breast tissue. Researchers added that the MBI technology has been in advanced testing for six years. This has shown that cancerous tumors were three times more likely to be found using the MBI method versus mammogram imaging. The tumor is invisible on the mammography, but shows clearly on the MBI image.

Carrie B. Hruska, a research fellow in the Department of Radiology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota said that these results suggest that MBI could become an important screening tool for women who have dense breast tissue and increased breast cancer risk.