Word: barres
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...ultrasound, in which a probe is used to peer deep into breast tissue and create an image using high-frequency sound waves. It takes two minutes longer to do a second scan and analyze the results with special software. The initial ultrasound finds the lump, according to Dr. Richard Barr, author of the study. The second scan probes the lump's characteristics, including how much it moves or stretches--which is where the technology gets its name...
...reasons that aren't yet clear to Barr or anyone else, when the elasticity software is applied, the image of a suspicious lump becomes larger if the lump is cancerous. Conversely, a noncancerous lesion appears smaller in an enhanced image. Additionally, cancerous lesions have a characteristic pattern--a sort of stringy network--whereas benign cysts look like a well-defined bull...
...sounds a little vague and subjective, but in Barr's hands, it seems to work. In a study of 80 women with 123 suspicious lumps in their breasts, elasticity imaging scored remarkably well. Subsequent biopsies showed that it correctly identified 17 out of 17 cancerous lesions and 105 out of 106 benign lesions. (There was one false positive.) Barr is understandably excited about the results. He envisions a day when this kind of technology might be able to eliminate biopsies altogether...
...consider is that ultrasound tests, unlike CT and MRI scans, are extremely operator dependent; the results could vary widely from facility to facility. Also, your doctor, like most other physicians, would probably want to see more studies of the new test before being comfortable with calling off a biopsy. Barr already has that in the works. He is preparing a multicenter international trial with 2,000 patients that will start in January and take about a year. In the interim, women should not forget a yearly mammogram starting at age 40. For now, it remains the gold standard of breast...
...objections of its own scientific advisory committee. That ruling angered pro-choice groups. The reversal predictably infuriated right-to-lifers, but those who favor reproductive rights weren't thrilled either: the FDA allowed over-the-counter sales only to women over 18. Anyone younger will still need a prescription. Barr Pharmaceuticals, which makes Plan B, had proposed prescription-free purchases for girls over 16, and will challenge the latest ruling...