Thermography has been available in clinical practice since the 1960’s and successfully used by industry and the military. The medical version has evolved into a technologically advanced medical monitoring system. “Nothing else can see what this camera can see”.
A study in the Jan. 2003 issue of the American Journal of Radiology documented that thermography has 99% sensitivity in diagnosing breast cancer in women under age 55. In contrast, conventional mammography has a 70% sensitivity rate in detecting cancer in this age group.
Canadian researchers found that infrared imaging of breast cancers could detect minute temperature variations related to blood flow and demonstrate abnormal patterns associated with the progression of tumours.
The following text is taken from 'Beyond Mammography' an article by Len Saputo, MD, which you can download in full as a PDF file.
Clinical Research Supporting Breast Thermography
At least five important studies published between 1980 and 2003 document that breast thermal imaging is a major advancement in identifying breast cancers not only with greater sensitivity and specificity, but also years earlier than with any other scientifically tested medical technology.
These scientific studies include:
• Cancer, 1980, Volume 56, 45-51. Fifty-eight thousand patients with breast complaints were examined between 1965 and 1977. Twelve hundred and forty-five patients with abnormal Th3 mammotherms had normal breasts by mammography, ultrasound, physical exam and biopsy. Thirty-eight percent of women with normal breasts and 44% of those with mastopathy developed biopsy proven breast cancer within five years. Ninety percent of patients with Th4 or 5 had diagnosis of cancer made on their first visit.
• Biomedical Thermology, 1982, 279-301, Alan Liss, Inc, New York. Michel Gautherie, MD, followed 10,834 women over 2 to 10 years by clinical examination, mammography and thermography. The study followed 387 people with normal breast examinations and mammograms but Th3 thermographic scores for an average of less than three years. In those without symptoms, 33% developed cancer. In those with cystic mastitis, cancer developed in 41%. These were predominately women between 30 to 45 years of age where breast cancer is the leading cause of death.
• Thermology, 1986, Volume 1. 170-73. The effectiveness of mammography, clinical palpation, and thermography were compared in the detection of breast cancer. Thermography had the best reliability, but the best results were found when all three were used together.
• The Breast Journal, Volume 4. 1998. 245-51. Keyserlingk et a1 documented 85% sensitivity in diagnosing breast cancer using clinical examination and mammography together. This increased to 98% when breast thermography was added.
• American Journal of Radiology, January 2003, 263-69. The Journal reported that thermography has 99% sensitivity in identifying breast cancer with single examinations and limited views. Thus, a negative thermogram (Th1 or Th2) in this setting is powerful evidence that cancer is not present.
Important Highlights from Breast Thermography Studies
• Advances in infrared technology combined with data on 300,000 women with mammotherms document that breast thermography is highly sensitive and accurate. Today, this means that more than 95% of breast cancers can be identified, and that this is done with 90% accuracy. In women under the age of 50, where there is the most devastating loss of life from breast cancer, mammography, MRIs and PET scans cannot come close to matching the combined sensitivity and specificity (accuracy) of breast thermography.
• Breast thermography involves no radiation exposure or breast compression, is easy to do, is done in a private setting, and is affordable.
• The FDA approved breast thermography for breast cancer risk assessment in 1982.
• It is important to begin breast cancer screening long before age 40. It should begin at age 25 in order to identify young women who are already developing breast cancer since it takes approximately 15 years for a breast cancer to form and lead to death. Further, young women with dense breast tissue are the most difficult to evaluate using breast palpation, mammography, and ultrasound examinations, yet their significantly higher risk of developing breast cancer can be accurately detected with breast thermography.
• Mainstream procedures are not approved for breast cancer screening in women under age 40 - it is widely known and accepted that they miss too many cancers and lead to too many false positive findings that result in far too many needless breast biopsies.
The notes on scientific studies above are taken from 'Beyond Mammography' an article by Len Saputo, MD, which you can download in full as a PDF file.
For more specific scientific studies go to:
http://www.medithermclinic.com/research.html
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