Detecting Breast Cancer in Women Under the Age of 50 - Dissertation Example

The two most popular methods used for screening breast cancer today, are Contrast Enhance Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Digital Mammography. Each method has it's own distinct advantages over the other and also lags behind in certain areas when compared with the other.This study will compare and contrast these two methods by using the tests on a sample population in the specific age group of women below 50 years of age and recording them in an organised fashion. At the completion of the research, I propose to conclusively find which method is better at detecting breast cancer in women under the age of 50 years and to support this conclusion with results gathered through the research conducted.2.0 OBJECTIVE2.

0 OBJECTIVE The objective of this research project is to develop a better understanding of the appropriate use of MRI and Digital Mammography in detecting breast cancer in women under the age of 50. The report also discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each method. The major issues faced were: 1) Identifying the timing of breast cancer screening for women under age 50. 2) Regular screening involved higher costs without a clearOne out of eight women in the developing world is estimated to develop breast cancer at some stage of their lives (Nkondjock, & Ghadirian, 2005).

Mortality caused by breast cancer is especially high among women between the ages of forty and forty-nine. Early, accurate detection leading to effective and less drastic treatment methods can significantly reduce the trauma associated with breast cancer, resulting in better prognosis and management of the disease (Taft & Taylor, 2001). Mammography, one of the earliest methods of breast cancer screening (responsible for a 34% decrease in mortality rate among women) was subsequently found to have not detected 25% of malignant Breast cancers in early stages, thus creating a need for a better screening procedure (Taft & Taylor, 2001).

Among the numerous diagnostic tools developed using new technology, FFDM and MRI offered prospects of better efficacy in the detection of breast cancer, especially critical for women aged below fifty since they tend to have denser breasts, which impair the capability of the diagnostic tools, particularly in the case of noncalcified breast cancers. The risk of malignancy is at the same time higher in dense breasts, making early detection even more important. Magnetic Resonance images are created by recording the signals generated after radio frequency excitation of hydrogen nuclei (or other elements) in tissue exposed to a strong static magnetic field.

The characteristics of these signals vary according to the type of tissue under observation.