Temporal variations of temperature of the breast by cholesteric liquid crystal contact plate thermography.

Thermography of the breast is considered by some to be a risk marker for the presence of abnormalities of the breast. Circadian variations in the temperature of the skin of normal and cancerous breasts have been documented. A temporal study was undertaken to verify whether or not thermograms obtained at different hours of the day are sufficiently similar to be clinically useful. Eleven healthy women underwent four serial thermographic evaluations each at three to four hour intervals. Significant differences were observed between the early morning results and subsequent evaluations. Reproducible thermograms were obtained for all studies done from 12 noon onward. This is a possible indication that the timing of thermographic examinations has to be standardized to ensure that reliable comparisons are being made.