GE Healthcare announced that it has collaborated in two clinical trials assessing the use of a
novel technology, investigational Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) system, that may assist in early detection of breast cancer in women who are at high risk for the disease. The Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel and Hamilton Health Sciences Hospital in Ontario, Canada, were the two centers selected by GE as they have showed great interest in receiving the first GE Healthcare MBI systems for clinical trials.
The investigational Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) system is a gamma camera dedicated for breast imaging based on accumulation of a radioactive tracer in hypermetabolic cancer cells. In these two prospective trials, they will determine the diagnostic accuracy of MBI in patients at high risk for breast cancer, including patients with dense breast tissue in whom conventional modalities used for breast, X-ray mammography and ultrasonography, are suboptimal. “Breast cancer is a foremost health problem for women worldwide and it is growing in numbers,” said Nathan Hermony, GE Healthcare Nuclear Medicine global manager. “Early detection is critical for improving breast cancer survival rates. This technology is intended to improve early detection in women who are at high risk for developing breast cancer, or in women with dense breasts who are less likely to benefit from conventional mammography.” Extensive early clinical work is done in the Mayo Clinic in the U.S. shows encouraging results with the use of MBI technology.