Carrie B. Hruska, Ph.D.

The purpose of this study is to gather qualitative information about patient comfort during MBI examinations. The primary aim is to assess patient comfort during MBI, relative to comfort during a mammogram. We also wish to identify factors that contribute to discomfort and patients’ willingness to have MBI in the future.

The significance of this study is that it will be the first prospective trial to compare MBI, a relatively low-cost functional breast imaging technique, to DBT, the new standard anatomic breast cancer screening technique in women with dense breasts. This study is also the first to evaluate two consecutive annual MBI scans to assess change in advanced cancer presentation after introduction of a functional imaging technique. These data will inform individualized decisions on supplemental screening and determine if a functional technique that is relatively low in cost and complexity of interpretation can eliminate the reservoir of clinically important breast cancers that remain occult on anatomic techniques. This study will also provide exploratory data about the optimal frequency of repeat MBI.

The purpose of this study is to show that improvements in the molecular breast imaging (MBI) technology will allow reduction of the administered dose of Tc-99m sestamibi while maintaining a sensitivity of 90% for tumor detection.

The primary objective of this work is to determine if half-dose Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) performed with 4 mCi Tc-99m sestamibi with or without Wide Beam Reconstruction applied can achieve image quality and diagnostic accuracy non-inferior to that of standard MBI performed with 8 mCi Tc-99m sestamibi.

The main purpose of this study is to  evaluate new types of gamma camera (the Veriton and Starguide systems) that provide a significant gain in system sensitivity and improved image quality compared to a conventional gamma camera that can achieve equal or better image quality than a standard SPECT/CT system.

The study will examine whether changes in background parenchymal uptake (BPU) on molecular breast imaging (MBI) can be induced by short-term use of low-dose tamoxifen. Women who have previously had high BPU on MBI will be recruited. Participants will take low-dose tamoxifen for a 30-day period, with post-tamoxifen MBI in order to investigate the impact of tamoxifen on BPU.

Increased mammographic density is recognized as an important risk factor for developing breast cancer, however, the underlying mechanism explaining this relationship is unclear. The investigators hypothesize that Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) can more accurately distinguish dense tissue on mammography which is at high risk from dense tissue at low risk by indicating cellular activity in dense tissue as radiotracer uptake (functional density) in the breast. In this pilot study, the investigators want to compare the histological characteristics of breast tissue in patients with who have similar density on mammography but different levels of functional density on MBI.

The investigators hypothesize that knowledge of the functional behavior of areas of mammographic density will enable more specific identification of dense tissue at-risk for breast cancer, ultimately providing predictive information on an individual's risk of developing breast cancer.