Edward Hospital recently acquired a new tool in the fight against breast cancer.
Molecular Breast Imaging can detect cancer at the molecular level before any physical changes in the breast occur.
“The primary benefit of this machine is it acts a supplemental screening device in patients who have dense breast tissue,” said Dr. Darius Gilvydis, medical director at Edward Hospital’s Women’s Imaging Center. “The reason that’s important is dense breast tissue is now recognized as a risk factor for breast cancer.”
Unlike a mammogram, MBI can differentiate between tumors and dense breast tissue, which is helpful in identifying cancers earlier.
Early detection has a strong correlation to survival rate in breast cancer.
And though the machine will help diagnose tumors earlier, Dr. Gilvydis said mammograms are still the gold standard for cancer detection.
“I don’t want anyone to confuse this as a replacement,” said Dr. Gilvydis. “This supplements screening mammograms and helps detect small lesions in dense breast tissue, which would not be evident in an early stage with dense breast tissue.”
Edward is the first hospital in the state of Illinois to acquire the machine.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.
