Word: tumors
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...these new approaches still need to be more fully tested before they can be widely adopted. Some of them will undoubtedly fail. The ultimate prize, which could be available within the next 10 to 15 years, would be a diagnostic test that determines which genes in a particular tumor have gone awry. As doctors are increasingly aware, it's not just a tumor's size but its underlying biology that determines how quickly it will grow. Genetic tests may one day accurately identify those tumors that are likely to spread and those that are not. The tests may also tell...
...After a tumor starts to break out of its milk duct, it's often still quite small. About the smallest tumor a mammogram can pick up is 0.5 cm to 1 cm (0.2 in. to 0.4 in.) in diameter. By contrast, the average cancers that are felt either by women or their physicians are around 2.5 cm, or about an inch. Even though mammograms still miss about 10% of all tumors, it's their ability to spot smaller tumors, which are generally easier to treat, that keeps women coming back for their annual appointment...
...doctors agree that it's prudent to treat all DCIS cases as if they are dangerous. (In the past couple of years, however, some surgeons have started treating the tiniest, least aggressive DCIS lesions by excision alone, forgoing radiation, provided they can get wide, cancer-free margins around the tumor...
...variety of reasons, radiologists in the U.S. tend to err on the side of caution. That is, they identify lots of "abnormalities," of which only 2% to 11% prove to be cancerous--either DCIS or an invasive tumor. Sometimes a second mammogram or an ultrasound provides the necessary reassurance. Other times, a biopsy--which entails the removal of some breast tissue--is required to resolve any ambiguity. Here the odds of finding cancer rise to about 25%, which means that 75% of biopsies come back negative...
...around the armpit for further examination--a procedure that can lead to problems with swelling and disability of the arm--they are focusing on certain key spots called sentinel nodes. The surgical team injects a blue dye into the tissue from which it has just removed a tumor and traces its path through the lymph system. The first node or two that the dye reaches are presumably also the first nodes in which any cancer cells would take up residence. The sentinel nodes are removed and closely examined. If they are free of cancer, chances are all the other nodes...