The High Authority for Health (HAS) recommended in a press release dated March 17, 2023 the generalization of a new breast cancer screening technique. We tell you what you need to know about this less painful method.
Mammography is a must for all women after 50 to detect breast cancer. This form of cancer is the one that kills the most every year in France with nearly 12,000 deaths on average per year, women and men combined. However, despite the importance of these checks, mammography can be scary, in particular due to its reputation as a painful examination. This Friday, March 17, 2023, the High Authority for Health (HAS) made an announcement which, in addition to allowing more reliable diagnoses, could ease the apprehension of pain for patients.
The HAS recommended in an official statement the use of a new technique to detect breast cancer: 3D mammography or tomosynthesis mammography. During this examination, the x-ray camera moves in an arc around the axis of the breast in order to obtain a 3-dimensional image and sectional images. This new method brings several advantages:
- The increase of more than 27% from the detection of cancerous cells, and up to 40% for so-called invasive cancers.
- better visualization of the entire interior of the breast from several angles, reducing the risk of overlaps and falsely disturbing images
- the use of a low dose of x-rays
- And finally the presence of a remote control available to patients in order to measure the compression of the breast during the examination.
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A method recommended in combination with a classic 2D mammography
In its press release, HAS “deplores the heterogeneity of professional practices and mammographs used in organized screening.” Similar methods that cause an increased risk of missing cancer-causing cells. They therefore recommend using the tomosynthesis mammography technique in addition to a usual 2D mammography. In most centers offering the new method, the 2D synthesis is carried out during the same shot as the 3D one.
Created in 2004, the national organized breast cancer screening program has prevented an average of 3,059 deaths per year and drastically increased the average 5-year survival rate (around 87% for people diagnosed between 2010 and 2015). ). The diversification of diagnostic techniques should further increase this figure.