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Clinical Utility of a Hand-Held Scanner for Breast Cancer Early Detection and Patient Triage
Julie M Clanahan1, Sanjana Reddy2, Robyn B Broach2
1Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
JCO Global Oncology
|February 8, 2020
Summary
The intelligent Breast Exam (iBE) shows promise as a portable, low-cost triage tool for breast cancer screening, comparable to clinical breast examination (CBE). Both methods can help reduce the need for further diagnostic imaging, especially in resource-limited settings.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Medical Imaging
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in women globally.
- Early diagnosis is challenging in low- and middle-income countries due to limited access to mammographic screening.
- Clinical breast examination (CBE) alone can be difficult to implement effectively for triage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the performance of piezo-electric palpation (intelligent Breast Exam [iBE]) with CBE for breast cancer triage.
- To evaluate iBE's potential as a portable, low-cost diagnostic tool in a Western mammography screening cohort.
Main Methods:
- 516 women undergoing screening or diagnostic workup were enrolled.
- Participants underwent iBE, followed by CBE, and then mammography.
- Mammography results were classified, and accuracy measures including kappa (κ) scores were calculated.
Main Results:
- iBE and CBE showed moderate agreement (κ = 0.53) but minimal agreement with mammography (κ = 0.08).
- iBE demonstrated 80.3% specificity and 94% negative predictive value.
- Of five malignancies, iBE and CBE together identified three; two small cancers were missed by both.
Conclusions:
- iBE performs comparably to CBE as a triage tool for breast cancer.
- iBE and CBE can synergize to reduce the number of patients requiring additional diagnostic imaging.
- This approach holds potential for improving breast cancer detection in resource-limited areas.
