Using Thermography for Breast Cancer Risk Assessment
Oct 03, 2021 07:22PM
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By Sheila Julson
Breast
thermography is a form of thermal imaging that uses an infrared camera to sense
heat and record patterns of inflammation and blood flow on or near the surface
of the skin. Because it is noninvasive and does not involve radiation, thermography
can be used as a risk assessment tool by identifying where inflammatory problems
are developing.
Techniques
such as mammography, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) rely
primarily on finding an existing physical tumor. Thermography works by
detecting the heat produced by increased blood vessel circulation and metabolic
changes associated with a tumor’s growth. By tracking variations in normal blood
vessel activity, it may locate areas that suggest a precancerous state of the
breast.
Breast
thermography is performed in a temperature-controlled setting. Patients will disrobe
from the waist up, allow the surface of the breasts to cool to room temperature,
and then raise their arms to have the images taken. On the thermogram images,
“hot spots”, or inflammatory responses from the body, appear red compared to
surrounding tissue, which shows as yellow, green or blue. The first session
provides a baseline, or “thermal thumbprint”. Patients return for subsequent
sessions to check whether patterns have changed.
Breast
thermography dates to 1956, when Dr. Ray Lawson, a Canadian surgeon, published
“Implications of Surface Temperatures in the Diagnosis of Breast Cancer.” This
paper included a picture of a large breast mass demonstrating temperature
variation with surrounding breast tissue. Lawson’s hypothesis kicked off
decades of research to advance breast thermography as a supplemental risk
assessment tool for preventive wellness.
The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration has cleared thermography for use with another
screening or diagnostic test such as mammography. It should not be used in
place of mammography to detect, diagnose or screen for breast cancer.
