DenseBreast-info, Inc.

We are a proud member of the newly formed Alliance for Breast Cancer Policy, which advances policies that improve access and treatments for those living with #breastcancer. Let’s change the future of #breastcancer care together. To learn more, visit Alliance for Breast Cancer Policy. #ScreeningSavesLives #ActNow

U.S. State Insurance Bills Bill introductions continue to roll in for expanded insurance coverage for breast imaging. New this week: Florida?S1578: https://lnkd.in/gJ-9Pgxu New York?S06151: https://lnkd.in/gRU6v9fW North Carolina?H297: https://lnkd.in/gamF7Adi Texas?SB1747: https://lnkd.in/gYHn7t6r ? Canadian Task Force?PAUSED Canada’s Minster of Health announced a?temporary pause?of the work of the Canadian Task Force on Preventative Health Care. The External Expert Review of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care is studying the Task Force's governance, mandate, and processes. This review was prompted, in part, by “important feedback directly from Canadians and key leaders in the area who raise their concerns on the existing guidance and process of the Task Force.”?Much credit goes to Dense Breasts Canada who fought a 7-year battle for a revision and to Drs. Paula Gordon, Jean Seely, Anna Wilkinson, and Martin Yaffe for their research and advocacy, and to Dr. Sheila Appavoo for leading a coalition of specialists. More info here: https://lnkd.in/eyWChC-s

Newly introduced state insurance bills to cover expanded breast imaging include the following:? ? Idaho?H0134: https://lnkd.in/gWWs2wCJ ? Rhode Island?H5430: https://lnkd.in/gmehQu7a ? West Virginia?SB430: https://lnkd.in/gxpsBkrv

?? European Congress of Radiology??? https://lnkd.in/esmYp4Vu?will be attending?ECR2025, (Feb 28 – March 2) in Vienna. Both DBI’s European Liaison Dr. Athina Vourtsis, and Education Coordinator Cheryl Cruwys, will be?on hand.?Dr. Athina Vourtsis’ lectures include a workshop session on 28 February, 14.15 - 14.45, “Rethinking breast cancer screening strategies in resource-limited settings.”??? ? Please visit the?DBI/Europe team?in?the Austria Center, Level 1 at the ESR Patient Advisory Group booth.?≈ ?? More details about ECR here: https://lnkd.in/dBwaVRi ? New Reader Study A?blinded reader study?from the University of Vienna compared conspicuity (relative enhancement of a lesion compared to surrounding tissue) of enhancing breast lesions between contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) and contrast-enhanced MRI. The study included 462 suspicious lesions (160 malignant) in 388 women who had both exams. ? Results showed: ?? MRI lesion conspicuity was better than CEM for both mass and non-mass lesions.? ?? MRI conspicuity was better than CEM for malignant1?and, especially, benign lesions.? The lower conspicuity of benign lesions on CEM could be beneficial in reducing false positives in clinical practice.? The authors concluded that MRI was superior for lesion detection, but that CEM remains a valuable tool, especially when MRI is not available.? ? 1?Of the 160 cancers, 2 (1.3%) cancers were not seen on MRI and 24 (15%) did not enhance on CEM, but the authors did not state if any cancers were not seen on CEM after considering low-energy images. Read the study here: https://lnkd.in/dP2w_RjT

Newly Updated / European Resource? Just out,?DenseBreast-info Europe’s?updated flowchart,?European Screening Decision Support Tool: https://lnkd.in/gnxU8k9E ? New Study Since the publication of the?2007 guideline from the American Cancer Society (here: https://lnkd.in/gjmAgipT), one barrier to implementing supplemental screening MRI in high-risk women has been performing risk assessment. With expanding indications for MRI for women at intermediate risk (including many women with dense breasts), MRI capacity has become another major barrier.? Just out in?Radiology, van Winkel and colleagues in the Netherlands applied AI risk assessment software (Transpara, v. 1.7.0, ScreenPoint Medical) to the mammograms of 2819 women at intermediate risk who underwent screening MRI.? An AI threshold that identified the top half of women at higher risk of cancer present identified: · All 18 (100%) women with mammographically detected cancer? ·??24/28 (86%) with MRI-detected cancer ·??13/19 (68%) with mammographically occult cancer ·??This could have cut the number of MRI examinations in half (1409)?(with AUC 0.72) Other software tools such as iCAD, Mirai, and Mia have shown similarly good performance in identifying women likely to have mammographically occult cancer who might benefit from screening MRI. Read here: https://lnkd.in/gmq4YsF9

10 newly introduced state insurance bills to cover expanded breast imaging multiple states across the US. Details and links here: https://lnkd.in/g7T3snMQ

Four more state insurance bills for expanded breast imaging coverage were introduced this week: Arizona?HB2561: https://lnkd.in/gdb4Trk8 Connecticut?SB00757: https://lnkd.in/gHuAEmHz Utah?HB0314: https://lnkd.in/gM2QEdbZ Virginia?SB2133: https://lnkd.in/gt8GUVsk

U.S. State Insurance Bills Multiple bills introduced this week to cover expanded breast imaging. Get the latest information at DenseBreast-info, including links to the proposed bills: https://ow.ly/IFNn50UJSge Medical Advisory Board We welcome Dr. Priscilla J. Slanetz to the DBI MAB!?? Dr. Slanetz is Professor of Radiology, Vice Chair of Academic Affairs & Faculty Development, Breast Imaging Fellowship Director, and the Associate Program Director of Diagnostic Radiology Residency at the Department of Radiology at Boston University Medical Center. She is on the ACR Board of Chancellors and chairs the Commission on Publications and Lifelong Learning (CoPLL) and is also on the AAR Board.?In addition, she is part of the editorial committee for?Academic Radiology,?AJR, and?Radiology,?and is the recipient of the 2024 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Award,?the highest honor from the American Association for Women in Radiology.

State Insurance Bills The 2025 legislative session has begun and new insurance bills to cover expanded breast imaging have been introduced in the following states: Indiana?HB1061: https://lnkd.in/gWvYnkNM New Jersey?A2067: https://lnkd.in/gGKhGegH New York?A00580: https://lnkd.in/gM-28emz South Carolina?H3202: https://lnkd.in/ga9qqCC4 Virginia?HB2133: https://lnkd.in/gt8GUVsk ? Congratulations! MAB member Dr. Jean Seely has been awarded the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest civilian honor.?She was recognized for excellence in breast imaging, and her work has changed clinical practice guidelines for mammography in Canada. Her clinical research has resulted in landmark studies that have led to a better understanding of how mammography screening beginning at age 40 impacts both morbidity and mortality.

The numbers are in! DenseBreast-info.org?had over ONE MILLION website visits in 2024.?We are honored to be the “go to” educational resource on the issue of breast density. Thank you to all! Wishing all a peaceful and healthy 2025!