Featured Articles

3D Mammography (Tomosynthesis)

October 3rd, 2011

Pioneered at Mass General, 3D mammography, also known as tomosynthesis, produces a 3D view of breast tissue to improve breast-cancer screening and detection while reducing callbacks and anxiety for women.

BENEFITS:

Improves radiologists’ ability to screen for and detect potential breast cancers.
Helps radiologists pinpoint size, shape, and location of abnormalities.
Can help distinguish harmless abnormalities from real tumors, leading to fewer callbacks and less anxiety for women.

INNOVATION:

Pioneered at Mass General.
Received FDA approval Feb. 11, 2011, following 10 years of research led by Mass General Breast Imagingteam.
Mass General Imaging performed first clinical tomosynthesis exam in United States March 7, 2011.

AVAILABILITY:

Tomosynthesis is complementary to standard mammography, which remains the “gold standard.”
Experts expect tomosynthesis to eventually become the new gold standard.
Tomosynthesis is performed along with a standard mammogram—at the same time on the same scanner.
Tomosynthesis is available at Mass General in Boston, Mass General West Imaging – Waltham and at Mass General Imaging – Worcester

To learn more about the benefits and availability of 3D mammographay, click here.

Molecular Fingerprinting

September 19th, 2011

Leif Ellisen, MD, PhD discusses the promise of molecular fingerprinting and targeted therapies.

“I’ve been in cancer research 25 years and everything has changed since I started,” says Leif Ellisen, MD, PhD, an oncologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center specializing in breast cancer. Discoveries are being made that can match patients to better, “smart drug” treatments.

Leading the way in this new era of cancer care — which uses knowledge gained at the molecular genetic level — is Massachusetts General Hospital’s new Molecular Pathology Translational Research Lab, which Ellisen co-directs with A. John Iafrate, MD, PhD, director of the Diagnostic Molecular Pathology Laboratory at Mass General. As many as 100 new cancer diagnoses are made at the Cancer Center weekly. Researchers at the Translational Research Lab have developed methods to “genotype” some tumors to find genetic abnormalities that have been activated. If there’s a drug than can de-activate those abnormalities, there is hope of a cure, says Ellisen.

To read the full article, click here.