Kennedy Deborah A, Lee Tanya, Seely Dugald
Department of Research and Clinical Epidemiology, The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Integr Cancer Ther. 2009 Mar;8(1):9-16. doi: 10.1177/1534735408326171.
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer of women in North America. Despite advances in treatment that have reduced mortality, breast cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer induced death. Several well established tools are used to screen for breast cancer including clinical breast exams, mammograms, and ultrasound. Thermography was first introduced as a screening tool in 1956 and was initially well accepted. However, after a 1977 study found thermography to lag behind other screening tools, the medical community lost interest in this diagnostic approach. This review discusses each screening tool with a focus brought to thermography. No single tool provides excellent predictability; however, a combination that incorporates thermography may boost both sensitivity and specificity. In light of technological advances and maturation of the thermographic industry, additional research is required to confirm the potential of this technology to provide an effective non-invasive, low risk adjunctive tool for the early detection of breast cancer.
乳腺癌是北美女性中最常被诊断出的癌症。尽管治疗方面的进展已降低了死亡率，但乳腺癌仍是癌症诱发死亡的第二大主要原因。有几种成熟的工具用于乳腺癌筛查，包括临床乳腺检查、乳房X光检查和超声检查。热成像技术于1956年首次作为一种筛查工具被引入，最初受到广泛认可。然而，1977年的一项研究发现热成像技术落后于其他筛查工具后，医学界对这种诊断方法失去了兴趣。本综述讨论了每种筛查工具，并重点关注热成像技术。没有一种工具能提供出色的预测性；然而，结合热成像技术的组合可能会提高敏感性和特异性。鉴于热成像技术的进步和热成像行业的成熟，需要更多研究来证实该技术作为一种有效的非侵入性、低风险辅助工具用于早期检测乳腺癌的潜力。
