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 Holdsworth AssociatesDate: 01/12/08 New breast health clinics to provide comprehensive breast screening Women concerned about breast cancer are to be given access to a network of over 30 specialist BreastHealth UK (BHUK) clinics, following the announcement today of a strategic collaboration between Spire Healthcare and BHUK. Following the success of the first clinic, which was established six months ago at Spire Cambridge Lea Hospital, BHUK and Spire Healthcare have agreed to collaborate on a further 30 specialist breast screening clinics. These will be based at Spire hospitals across the country and will be opened during the next 24 months.
BHUK offers comprehensive, personalised and private breast screening services designed to help women gain peace-of-mind when NHS screening is unavailable or difficult to obtain. A unique addition to its range of services is Digital Infrared BreastScan, which offers safe and non-invasive technology to support breast cancer screening in younger women. It will be available in the UK exclusively from BreastHealth UK.
Digital Infrared BreastScan (DIB) is a non-contact technique that picks up ‘hot spots’ that may be caused by increased blood flow to cancerous tissue and has the potential to pick up tumours at an early stage. The technique is particularly suitable for women under 50 and complements other screening technologies.
Gordon Wishart, Consultant Breast Surgeon and Medical Director of BreastHealth UK, explains that screening of breast tissue for the early detection of cancer has traditionally been done using mammography – a low-dose x-ray examination of the breast – but that this is generally much less sensitive, and not widely available, for women younger than 50.
“Mammography is recommended for women older than 50 and available as part of the routine NHS screening. However, it is less sensitive in younger women who have much denser breast tissue, and this makes tumours much more difficult to detect. Some women also find mammography uncomfortable which can deter them from participating in screening programmes.”
A recent study of the technique at the Department of Surgery, New York Presbyterian Hospital, in Cornell, New York, showed that DIB could be a useful tool in early diagnosis of breast cancer, particularly in younger women for whom mammography may be unsuitable.[1]
“The study showed that DIB had 97% sensitivity in identifying malignant tumours,” Gordon Wishart added. “This is a landmark study because it supports this technique as a diagnostic tool for breast cancer detection and this will be of huge benefit to younger, at-risk women with the potential to help identify tumours at an earlier stage.”
Although infrared technology was approved by the US Food and Drink Administration (FDA) in 1982 as a supplementary tool for the diagnosis of breast cancer, it is only now that major advances in imaging technology and analysis have made the technique suitable for use with breast cancer screening programmes.
Patients are seated opposite a digital infrared camera with their breasts exposed to a stream of cooled air. Around 1,000 images are taken over a four-minute examination and these are analysed to show the areas with the greatest temperature difference compared to surrounding tissue. The temperature difference seen in these ‘hot spots’ is due to the increased blood flow to cancerous tissue and the development of micro-vessels in and around tumours.
Troels Jordansen, Director of BreastHealth UK, the only healthcare provider in the UK to offer the technique, is very positive about the potential of the procedure. It will be offered with specialist consultancy as part of a range of screening technologies including clinical breast examination, mammography and breast MRI.
“Our aim is to provide peace of mind for women of all ages concerned about their breast health and to offer personalised screening for those at higher risk. With Digital Infrared BreastScan there is no exposure to radiation, so it can safely be used as part of ongoing monitoring on a 6- or 12-monthly basis.”
Over the coming months BHUK is expected to expand its services to include genetic testing as well. The Spire Healthcare network will offer national coverage for sample collection and consultations and the partnership will see clinics set up across the country.
Dr JJ de Gorter, Director of Clinical Services at Spire Healthcare comments: “Giving women control over their breast screening programmes is an important move, and something we believe strongly in. We are delighted to be working with BreastHealth UK to offer women the widest choice of high quality screening, in our centres across the country.”
For further details women should visit the website: www.BreastHealthUK.com.
About BreastHealth UK
BreastHealth UK (BHUK) offers comprehensive, personalised, private breast screening services designed to help worried women gain peace-of-mind.
BHUK combines state-of-the-art technology such as Digital Infrared BreastScan and genetic tests with a range of traditional breast screening services including clinical breast examination (CBE), mammography, breast ultrasound and ultrasound guided biopsy, and breast MRI.
BHUK helps to ensure that breast cancer is identified early and an appropriate individual treatment pathway implemented. To achieve this BHUK works with leading breast surgeons, radiologists, genetic counsellors and other breast specialists across UK.
Early detection of breast cancer reduces the need for surgery and improves survival and quality of life. At present, routine NHS breast screening is available for women between 50 and 70 years old. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women under 35.
BreastHealth UK established its first clinic in Cambridge in 2008 and a nationwide network is planned. Please visit www.BreastHealthUK.com for further information.
About Spire Healthcare
Spire Healthcare is the second largest private hospital provider in the UK with 36 hospitals and a total of 1,983 beds. Spire Healthcare treats 930,000 patients a year, employs 7,600 staff and works with over 3,000 medical consultants. For more information, please visit: www.spirehealthcare.com
[1] Arora, N., Martins, D., Ruggerio, D., Tousimis, E., Swistel, A.J., Osborne, M.P., Simmons, R.M. Effectiveness of a noninvasive digital infrared thermal imaging system in the detection of breast cancer. The American Journal of Surgery (2008) 196: 523-526.
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For further information please contact:
For BreastHealth UK
Helen Goldrein/Rachel Holdsworth, PR consultants
Holdsworth Associates
Tel:
For Spire Healthcare
Danielle Kelly, Marketing and Communications Manager
Spire Healthcare
Tel Copyright Cambridge Network 2009
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