In November 2009 a government task force presented radical new breast cancer screening guidelines that spawned a heated debate among scientists, doctors and medical organizations. As a result, the decades old discussion on expanding the use of thermography for breast screening re-surfaced.
Breast Cancer Screening Debate Stirs Thermography Discussion
In 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force revised the long held American Cancer Society’s (ACS) breast cancer screening guidelines, bringing them in line with the European Guidelines which screen women age 50-69 every two years. ACS however, states that "yearly mammograms are recommended starting at age 40 and continuing for as long as a woman is in good health."
After analyzing Norway’s large national database the committee found that breast cancer will sometimes regress and is not always life-threatening. *In response, the task force suggested re-evaluating the use of routine mammography for breast cancer screening.
The dialogue surrounding the new guidelines focused on re-assessing the value of breast self exams, physician breast examinations, and the age and frequency of mammograms. In the wake of the debate a renewed interest in alternative approaches to breast cancer screening and prevention surfaced, including the use of thermography.
Approved by the FDA in 1982 as an adjunct (done in conjunction with) to mammography and other breast cancer screening tools, proponents of thermography cite large, longitudinal studies to support its use as a highly sensitive, breast cancer detection tool. Advocates say research indicates thermography offers an advantage in early detection over mammography and physician evaluation because it can detect small tumors sooner.
Opponents however, cite high error rates and say thermography can't pick up deeply imbedded breast tumors, although proponents insist these concerns are based on widespread misinformation as well as a misunderstanding by clinicians of the now highly sophisticated assessment capabilities of thermography.
Breast Cancer Screening and Thermography
Breast thermography uses special infrared-sensitive cameras to digitally record images of the variations in surface temperature of the human breast, recording images of the heat patterns. The recorded images are called thermograms. Its use in cancer screening is based on the concept that cancer gives off more heat than normal tissue. This technology detects functional changes in the breast tissue before tumors form or before they’re large enough to be detected by other secondary prevention techniques like a clinical breast exam or mammography, say advocates.
Blood vessels, cysts, other benign sources, and metabolic processes such as growing breast tumors all radiate heat from within the breast. A portion of the radiated heat reaches the surface of the breast where it composes a stable thermal pattern. A breast thermography examination records these thermal patterns and interprets them according to a strict and complex analytical procedure. When analyzed properly by trained individuals, the images disclose various pathological and abnormal processes.
Where a mammogram looks at anatomical changes in the breast and detects masses or lumps in the tissue, a thermogram picks up vascular changes in the breast by detecting blood flow patterns, inflammation and asymmetries. Thermography is used extensively in other countries including Japan, France and Sweden.
Thermography Has Growing Number of Advocates
Edward Jay, a businessman and the founder of Thermogram Assessment Services (TAS) writes on his website that thermograms have been “successfully used throughout the world to detect signs of breast cancer up to 10 years before the cancer is detectable using mammography, without the intense pain, errors, and exposure to harmful radiation. Breast thermography has repeatedly demonstrated an average accuracy of 90%, and research shows that it can significantly improve long-term survival rates.”
In 1982 Jay, a physicist-turned-businessman and a computer software developer, partnered with Dr. Michael Gautherie to develop and commercially use a computerized version of Gautherie's breast screening technique. Gauthrie writes Jay, is a recognized expert in evaluating breast thermograms and the author of the “gold standard breast thermography interpretation technique.”
Dr. William C. Amalu, a chiropractor with 19 years of thermal imaging experience reviewed the history of thermography studies in breast cancer detection in 1995. Amalu writes in his report that The Breast Cancer Detection and Demonstration Project (BCDDP) formed in the seventies should not have dismissed thermography as a viable breast cancer screening tool. Many of the studies included in the committee’s review, he writes, suffered from serious methodological errors, unrealistic expectations and flaws, that at the time were the result of infrared technology still in its infancy. Since then, new generations of thermography technology have emerged and the accuracy and sensitivity for breast cancer detection has greatly improved.
Dr. Amalu does not suggest thermography replace mammography for first line screening. Ideally he suggests women use a multiple-modality approach:
- Physical, - doctor's exam
- Functional - thermography
- Structural - MRI which is not a viable option for most women, in which case mammography.
“Considering the contribution that thermography has demonstrated thus far in the field of early cancer detection, all possibilities should be considered for promoting further technical, biological, and clinical research in this procedure,” he says.
In his review Amalu summarizes findings to support thermography’s use for breast cancer screening:
- Breast thermography has undergone extensive research since the late 1950's.
- Over 800 peer-reviewed studies on breast thermography exist in the index-medicus literature.
- In this database, well over 300,000 women have been included as study participants.
- The numbers of participants in many studies are very large -- 10K, 37K, 60K, 85K …
- Some of these studies have followed patients up to 12 years.
- Strict standardized interpretation protocols have been established for over 20 years.
- Breast thermography has an average sensitivity and specificity of 90%.
- An abnormal thermogram is 10 times more significant as a future risk indicator for breast cancer than a first order family history of the disease.
- A persistent abnormal thermogram caries with it a 22x higher risk of future breast cancer.
- An abnormal infrared image is the single most important marker of high risk for developing breast cancer.
- Research has shown that breast thermography significantly augments the long-term survival rates of its recipients.
- When used as part of a multimodal approach (clinical examination + mammography + thermography) 95% of early stage cancers will be detected.
Dr. Mercola Against Mammography
Dr. Joseph Mercola, a leading natural health advocate strongly opposes mammograms and suggests thermography for first line breast cancer screening. “Unfortunately mammograms use ionizing radiation at a relatively high dose, which in and of itself can contribute to the development of breast cancer. Mammograms expose your body to radiation that can be 1,000 times greater than that from a chest x-ray, which we know poses a cancer risk. Mammography also compresses your breasts tightly, which could lead to a dangerous spread of cancerous cells, should they exist,“ he writes in his online article, “Stop! Read This BEFORE You Get that Mammogram” (Mercola.com, June 27,2009).
Mammographs In Conjunction With Thermograms
In a 2009 review of thermography for breast cancer detection, researcher DA Kennedy and others recommended using thermography in combination with other modalities to increase screening accuracy. “No single tool provides excellent predictability; however, a combination that incorporates thermography may boost both sensitivity and specificity. In light of technological advances and maturation of the thermographic industry, additional research is required to confirm the potential of this technology to provide an effective non-invasive, low risk adjunctive tool for the early detection of breast cancer,” write the authors.
The American Cancer Society does not endorse thermography to replace mammography, "No study has ever shown that it is an effective screening tool for finding breast cancer early. It should not be used as a substitute for mammograms."
In addition, patients interested in pursuing thermography for breast screening need to be aware of unscrupulous practices in this field. Patients interested in pursuing thermography for breast screening should consult with a licensed doctor who is certified in thermal imaging by a recognized agency (AAT, AMIT, AAMII, AMIA, IACT, ITS). In addition, the rating system the technologist uses to assess the breast readings vary; some producing a higher than average false positive rate.
The controversy surrounding the new breast cancer screening guidelines prompted scientists, doctors and medical organizations to vigorously debate which protocol would save the most number of lives. On the sidelines, researchers involved in breast screening thermography are pushing to invest more research in this safe, pain free and highly sensitive, some insist, breast cancer detection technology.
*Updated Findings: (October 1, 2010)
New Findings Contradict Task Force's Recommendations: "Mammography Significantly Lowers Death Rate in Women Ages 40-49"
Additional Reading:
Vitamin D Stimulates Anti Breast Cancer Protein
Cancer Cells Can Be Silenced, Research Finds.
Footnotes:
Gautherie M, Gros CM.. “Breast thermography and cancer risk prediction.” Pol Arch Med Wewn March 2010.
Jay, Edward, Thermogram Assessment Services, “Winning the Battle Against Breast Cancer.”
Kennedy DA, Lee T, Seely D. “A comparative review of thermography as a breast cancer screening technique.” Integrative Cancer Therapies,2009 Mar;8(1):9-16.
Plotnikoff G, Carolyn T. ”Emerging controversies in breast imaging: is there a place for thermography?” Minnesota Medicine 2009 Dec;92(12):37-9, 56.
Laura Owens - Laura Owens has a B.S. in Psychology from Rollins College & U of FL. She is a freelance writer with expertise in motivation & wellness.
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