A team of researchers and physicians found that utilizing ultrasound-guided diffuse optical tomography (DOT) technology may reduce unnecessary breast biopsy rates by nearly 25%. Using this new method first—rather than starting with a biopsy—may help to determine if additional diagnoses are needed to test for cancer. The research was recently published by Zhu et al in Breast Cancer Research and supported by a nearly $2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute.
Every year in the United States, more than 1 million breast biopsies are performed, yet 75% to 80% of those biopsies have benign results, meaning patients undergo an invasive procedure, anxiety, and waiting—only to learn cancer is not present.
Ultrasound-guided DOT technology aims to assesses the total hemoglobin concentration (HbT) and blood oxygen saturation (%sO2) of malignant and benign breast lesions.
Study Results
In a double-blind clinical trial involving 226 patients with a mean age of 52 years, the research team found that ultrasound-guided DOT—used alongside standard breast ultrasound—can reduce unnecessary benign biopsies by nearly 25%, while maintaining a false-negative rate below 2%, consistent with American College of Radiology safety standards.
By combining standard ultrasound with DOT, radiologists gain additional information about tissue biology, not just structure.
The HbT of the malignancy group was higher than that of the benign group (P < .001) and the %sO2 was significantly lower in malignant than in benign lesions (P = .033). The HbT of grade 3 carcinomas was significantly higher than that of grade 1 and 2 cancers (P = .042), while the %sO2 was significantly lower (P = .015). The HbT of carcinomas smaller than 2 cm (measured by ultrasound) was not significantly different from that of carcinomas larger than 2 cm (P = .781), but %sO2 differed significantly between the two tumor sizes (P = .023).
This research aims to improve how physicians distinguish which lesions truly require biopsy and which may be safely monitored. For patients, it means care that is not only the most advanced but thoughtfully designed to ensure that cancer is detected as early and screening is as accessible and low-cost as possible for more people.
The study authors concluded, “Integration of HbT and %sO2 into the radiologists’ BI-RADS imaging assessments of ultrasound-visible breast lesions can reduce benign biopsy rates by 25%, while maintaining a false-negative rate below 2%. The correlation of HbT and %sO2 with invasive carcinoma grade, and the size-independent HbT contrast and size-dependent %sO2 level of invasive carcinomas, may guide preferential diagnosis of malignancies.”
DISCLOSURE: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit link.springer.com.
