Breast thermography. A prognostic indicator for breast cancer survival.

A prognostic classification for thermographic staging of breast cancer has been applied to a cohort of 70 patients from 5040 screenees enrolled in the Albert Einstein Medical Center (AEMC) Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project (BCDDP). A diagnosis of breast cancer was established in each case before December 31, 1980. None of the patients have been lost to follow-up which extended from a minimum of 6 to a maximum of 13 years.

Other imaging techniques.

Images of the breast can now be produced by five modalities: x-ray, heat, sound, light, and magnetism. X-ray mammography is generally accepted as the most accurate of these in the detection of breast cancer, and the standard by which the others are judged. Despite the obvious attraction of nonionizing techniques, the economic factor attendant on multiple studies requires consideration.

A preliminary appraisal of diaphanography in diseases of the breast.

Transillumination of the breast is a noninvasive procedure that is being tested as an imaging technique for evaluation of breast disease, differentiating benign from malignant lesions, and as a possible screening modality. The average normal breast when transilluminated in a darkened room has a reddish-yellow color that is reproduced with remarkable fidelity on infrared film. Differences of color, shading, and blood vessel caliber are criteria for the recognition of various breast lesions.

Criteria for obtaining and interpreting breast thermagrams.

The thermal and graphic criteria which should be used to evaluate breast thermograms are outlined. Thermograms are then categorized as normal, suspicious, or abnormal on the basis of the criteria outlined. It is hoped that these criteria can be used widely to standardize breast thermographic evaluation.

Cancer in the "cold" breast thermogram.

The hallmark of the normal breast thermogram is relative symmetry of vascular configuration and thermal content with preservation of the breast contour. Accepted criteria of abnormality are predicated upon graphic and thermal asymmetry with emphasis placed upon elevated temperature, an increase in the number of discernible vessels, and distorted vascular patterns. The association of a confirmed breast cancer and an avascular thermogram has been labeled a false negative.