Health

New Test Gives Hope To Women At High Risk For Breast Cancer

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 31, 2002 / 8:41 AM EST / CBS

It’s one of a women’s biggest fears: getting breast cancer. Doctors advise women 40 and over to go for yearly mammograms, sooner for those at high risk.

But mammograms can miss cancer. CBS2’s Paul Moniz reports about a revolutionary new test, now being tested at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, that could help millions of women save their lives and breasts

Studies indicate mammograms can miss as many as 25% of breast cancers in women under 50 ad 10% in older women. One reason is that it can take 8 to 10 years for cancer cells to grow into masses large enough to be detected.

But researchers say that the new technique known as "ductal lavage", French for rincing out the milk ducts, may be able to find free pre cancerous cells years before a tumor is discovered. That’s because all breast cancers begin in the lining of the milk duct.

In ductal lavage, doctors insert a tiny catheter into a woman’s milk duct and numb it with a small amount of anesthesia. Saline is injected into the duct to collect cells which are then tested to see if they are precancerous.

The 30 minute FDA approved test was developed by renowned breast cancer specialist Dr. Susan Love.

"It gives you the opportunity to find out what’s going on there and to find cells that are just thinking about being cancer some day rather than that are already cancer," explains Dr. Love.

A recent study found that ductal lavage detected abnormal or pre cancerous cells in 20% of the high risk women who had normal mammograms and normal physical breast exams a year before.

"If we can find breast cancer before it goes that far, while it is still confined to the ducts and be able to treat it at that point, we have a chance of making sure that no women die of breast cancer," concludes Dr. Love.

Ductal lavage should be available at some hospitals over the next year but initially the procedure will be reserved only for women at high risk. That means if you’re not in the high risk category you should continue getting regular mammograms and performing self breast exams.