Call for NHS to give women with dense breasts extra cancer scans
Women with very dense breasts should be offered additional scans as part of the UK's NHS breast screening programme to help detect more cancers and save lives, researchers say.A Cambridge University-led study of more than 9,000 women found using different scans from traditional mammograms could treble the number of cancers detected in this group of women.Around one in 10 women have very dense breasts and they have a higher risk of developing breast cancer, however cancers are harder to spot in dense breasts because of the way mammograms (breast x-rays) work.This is because they look whiter on the x-rays, the same colour as early-stage cancers.
The trial tested different scanning methods on women with very dense breasts who had been given a mammogram and told they did not have cancer.It is only through mammograms that women and their health professionals can identify breasts that are very dense.
'Extra scan spotted my cancer'
Louise Duffield, 60, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, was one of the trial participants who had an early-stage breast cancer diagnosed.She had surgery to have the tumour removed within weeks.She says it was a "big shock" when she got the diagnosis."It's been a stressful time and it's a huge relief to have it gone. The tumour was deep in the breast so if I hadn't been on the trial, it could have gone unnoticed for years."
The study, published in The Lancet, found two alternative methods, an enhanced mammogram and a fast MRI scan, detected 17-19 cancers per 1,000 women screened. Both techniques use injections to make blood vessels more visible – tumours in the breast have a lot of blood vessels.By contrast, traditional mammograms detect eight cancers in every 1,000 women screened. This amounts to more than 20,000 cancers currently detected each year. Women aged 50 to 71 are invited for breast screening every three years and around two thirds take up the offer.Based on the study results and that level of uptake, using the different scanning techniques on women with very dense breasts could identify 3,500 extra cancers per year and potentially save 700 lives.
'Time to change approach'
Prof Fiona Gilbert, who led the research, said she was convinced the new approach could make a difference."We need to change our national screening programme so we can make sure more cancers are diagnosed early, giving many more women a much better chance of survival."The Department of Health and Social Care said its screening advisory body had been looking at ways to improve detection rates in women with very dense breasts for a number of years.It said it would be reviewing the findings of this trial, but it was determined to "fight cancer on all fronts" to improve survival rates.A new national cancer plan for England is expected to be published later this year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BreakingNews.ie
32 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Universe was not formed in big bang but ‘bounced' out of black hole
The Universe may not have started with the Big Bang, but instead 'bounced' out of a massive black hole formed within a larger 'parent' universe, according to a new scientific paper. Professor Enrique Gaztanaga, from the University of Portsmouth's Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, said that the current Big Bang theory was problematic as the laws of physics 'broke down' when used to explain it. Advertisement His new explanation, published in the journal Physical Review D, suggests that the Universe was formed as a result of a gravitational collapse in a larger universe which generated a massive black hole leading to a rebound or 'bounce' causing our universe to emerge. Professor Gaztanaga said: 'The Big Bang model begins with a point of infinite density where the laws of physics break down. 'This is a deep theoretical problem that suggests the beginning of the Universe is not fully understood. 'We've questioned that model and tackled questions from a different angle – by looking inward instead of outward. Advertisement 'Instead of starting with an expanding universe and asking how it began, we considered what happens when an over-density of matter collapses under gravity.' Prof Gaztanaga explained that the theory developed by his team of researchers worked within the principles of quantum mechanics and the model could be tested scientifically. He said: 'We've shown that gravitational collapse does not have to end in a singularity and found that a collapsing cloud of matter can reach a high-density state and then bounce, rebounding outward into a new expanding phase. 'Crucially, this bounce occurs entirely within the framework of general relativity, combined with the basic principles of quantum mechanics. What emerges on the other side of the bounce is a universe remarkably like our own. Advertisement 'Even more surprisingly, the rebound naturally produces a phase of accelerated expansion driven not by a hypothetical field but by the physics of the bounce itself. 'We now have a fully worked-out solution that shows the bounce is not only possible – it's inevitable under the right conditions. 'One of the strengths of this model is that it makes predictions that can be thoroughly tested. And what's more this new model has also revealed that the Universe is slightly curved, like the surface of the Earth.' He added: 'Furthermore, it could also shed new light on other deep mysteries in our understanding of the early universe such as the origin of supermassive black holes, the nature of dark matter, or the formation and evolution of galaxies.' Advertisement Prof Gaztanaga, who is the science co-ordinator for the ARRAKIHS ESA space mission, said that the four wide-angle telescopes on the satellite could help confirm the theory through its ability to detect ultra-low surface brightness structures in the outskirts of galaxies which he explained were essential for studying how galaxies grow and evolve.
Telegraph
36 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Brian Cox documentary maker dies in Alps accident
A leading British documentary maker has died in a mountaineering accident in the French Alps. Michael Lachmann, 54, slipped and fell while climbing down the Grands Couloirs glacier in the Vanoise National Park on Sunday morning. The father of two, the son of Sir Peter Lachmann, the Cambridge immunologist, was in the region to visit a property his family had owned for many years. Known as one of Britain's leading factual directors and producers, Mr Lachmann helped turn Prof Brian Cox into a household name following their work together on the BBC's Wonders series of programmes about nature and space. Prof Helen Lachmann, his sister, described him as 'the most lovely, funny, talented, witty, clever man and film-maker'. She added: 'He knew everything about everything, and made it sound fresh and funny. He adored his two boys, they were the centre of his whole life. He was much loved, and he will be much missed.' Award-winning career Mr Lachmann's career as a filmmaker spanned two decades, during which he was nominated for an Emmy and three Baftas, winning one. As well as Wonders, he made programmes about the Celts, Albert Einstein, Sir Stephen Hawking and cosmonauts. He was known for pioneering the use of CGI to portray space and prehistoric Earth, as well as filming underwater and in extreme environments. Mr Lachmann's agent said he had most recently been a showrunner for the series Spacetime Capsule, which offered 'unprecedented access to Chinese science and technology' and was released last year. In recent years he also directed a 90-minute film starring Prof Cox about Mars for BBC Two, along with an Emmy-nominated documentary about Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. Mr Lachmann became a BBC producer and director after completing science degrees at Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge. He also worked with BBC presenters Marcus du Sautoy and the late Michael Mosley.
Daily Mail
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Strawberry Moon will be lowest in UK skies since 2006
If you love skygazing, you won't want to miss a rare viewing opportunity tonight – and you should be able to catch it before you go to bed. According to astronomers, the Full Strawberry Moon will be lower in the sky than any full moon since 2006. A Strawberry Moon is simply the full moon when it appears in June. This year, it will coincide with a rare celestial phenomenon called the 'major lunar standstill' which makes the moon appear lower. It should be visible as long as you're in the Northern Hemisphere – but the further north you are, the closer to the horizon the moon will seem. 'The moon will appear unusually low on the southern horizon,' Dr Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society, told MailOnline. 'It will appear very dramatic, especially in northern parts of the UK.' Here's everything you need to know about the rare celestial event. What is the Strawberry Moon? Strawberry Moon is simply the name traditionally given to the full moon when it appears in the month of June. But it's a common misconception that the name 'Strawberry Moon' refers to the moon's colour or any kind of resemblance to the popular summer fruit. Whenever the full moon appears, it is given a nickname depending on the month of the year – a tradition that goes back hundreds of years. Will the moon be lower than usual? The June full moon will be lower than usual this year due to an astronomical phenomenon called 'major lunar standstill'. Occurring about once every 18.6 years, a major lunar standstill is when moonrise and moonset are furthest apart along the horizon, as viewed from Earth. It means the moon appears unusually low in the horizon and the sun unusually high in the Northern Hemisphere. At the same time, the moon appears unusually high and the sun unusually low in the Southern Hemisphere. Major lunar standstill actually lasts for a period of roughly two years, which is why we saw a very low Strawberry Moon this time last year , but this month it'll be lower. This week marks the lowest a full moon has been in the sky since 2006 – and it won't be this low again until 2043. According to Dr Massey, the best time to see the event is simply when the moon rises – which in London is 21:18 BST tonight and at 22:20 BST tomorrow night – meaning you won't have to camp out all night for this one. The website Time and Date lets you search for a specific location and see exactly when the moon rises in your area. It's worth noting the moon will be lower the further north you are – so it will be especially low in places like northern Scotland and the Shetland Islands. How will the moon look different? The moon will appear to take on different coloured hues, although this is a trick of the light and usually depends on how low it is on the horizon. 'A red or yellow colored moon usually indicates a moon seen near the horizon,' NASA says. 'There, some of the blue light has been scattered away by a long path through the Earth's atmosphere, sometimes laden with fine dust. 'A blue-colored moon is more rare and can indicate a moon seen through an atmosphere carrying larger dust particles.' But the moon may also appear slightly bigger. When the moon is especially close to the horizon, our brains experience something called the 'Moon Illusion', The optical illusion causes the moon to appear bigger compared to when it's higher in the sky (although scientists still aren't sure why or how it works). What's the forecast like? According to the latest update from the Met Office, the clearest, cloud-free skies tonight will be in the north of Britain. 'It will be dry for most tonight, with variable cloud and clear spells,' Met Office spokesperson Andrea Bishop told MailOnline. 'Western parts will tend to cloud over later, with some low cloud and fog patches likely in the south where it is mild.' if you don't get a chance to see the Strawberry Moon tonight, you'll get another chance on Wednesday night, but conditions won't be as good. 'Wednesday will be a cloudier night than Tuesday, with the east hopefully staying dry with clear spells,' said Bishop. 'Showers will affect some western and then central areas though, followed by a more organised area of thundery rain, which may be heavy, moving erratically north across western areas overnight, which may affect visibility.'
