by
Heather Mayer, DOTmed News Reporter | August 24, 2010
Generally, BSGI or PEM exams are a follow-up to a mammogram, explained Hendrick. The scans are used similarly to the way MRI is used — as a diagnostic adjunct to mammography, not as a screening tool.
“Don’t start thinking about using these procedures for screening because they carry a far greater risk than mammography,” he said. “If you did annual screenings with these devices, you expose significant risk to the patient.”
The nuclear imaging tests are marketed especially to women with denser breasts because they can better detect abnormalities than conventional mammography, said Hendrick. But women with denser breasts are generally younger, and thus carry a greater risk of developing radiation-induced cancers.
But Dr. Marcela Böhm-Vélez, a member of the American College of Radiology, clinical assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh and president of Weinstein Imaging Associates doesn’t use BSGI on women younger than 40 years old. Instead, she uses ultrasound as a complementary tool.
“I have been very conscious about whom to recommend BSGI to,” said Böhm-Vélez, who was referred to DOTmed News by Dilon Diagnostics, a camera manufacturer that conducts BSGI.
While manufacturers say these nuclear tests only administer 2 mGy of radiation to the breast, there is often greater exposure to other parts of the body, said Hendrick.
“They’re not telling you [what] the rest of the organs [are getting] and what those risks are,” he said. “[Manufacturers] are sweeping it under the carpet, to some extent.”
These nuclear tests may increase the risk of cancer in the intestines, kidneys, bladder, gallbladder, uterus, ovaries and colon, according to the report.
But the research only tells radiologists what they already know, said Böhm-Vélez, who recognizes that these nuclear tests should only be used as a diagnostic tool, and even then, cautiously ordered.
“Cardiologists use the stress test annually without thinking about how much radiation they’re giving [patients],” she said.
At this point, there haven’t been enough studies conducted to determine whether the nuclear tests are more accurate than conventional mammography, said Hendrick. But Böhm-Vélez swears by the test and its accuracy.
“In the right situation, when it’s used correctly, [BSGI] has been an extremely helpful tool for me,” she said.
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