The information surrounding mammogram screening may be stunning.

Although mammograms are probably the most extensively used breast most cancers screening check and save many lives, the American Most cancers Society reveals that “Mammograms have their limits…Ladies with dense breasts usually tend to get false-negative outcomes.” Ladies might have most cancers, however their mammograms will fail to find it as a result of dense breast tissue usually hides most cancers.

In line with MyDensityMatters.org, “Should you do have dense breasts, a mammogram will discover LESS THAN 50% of cancers.” About half of girls have dense breasts.

This alarming knowledge impressed the launch of SmartBreast, the primary and solely firm targeted on providing options particularly for girls with dense breasts. The mission of SmartBreast is early prognosis of harder-to-detect most cancers in dense breasts, considerably enhancing affected person outcomes and thereby saving breasts and lives.

“The excessive failure fee of mammography for depicting early-stage most cancers in dense breasts, the elevated danger for most cancers, and the ensuing giant variety of late-stage interval cancers (recognized between annual screening mammograms that seem regular) represent ‘the dense breast drawback,’ which introduced collectively our world-renowned crew of medical imaging scientists, breast surgeons, and radiologists devoted to defeating most cancers in dense breasts,” reads smartbreast.com.

Delays in breast most cancers prognosis, typically by 4 to 6 years, enhance the necessity for radical surgical procedures, together with mastectomies, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation remedy.  Later prognosis additionally ends in a a lot decrease life expectancy than if most cancers is detected early.

SmartBreast co-founder and CEO James Hugg, PhD, MBA, is well-positioned to deal with the crucial points introduced by the failure of mammography to establish most cancers in dense breasts. As a medical physicist, he has held senior positions at medical imaging corporations, together with Basic Electrical Healthcare and Gamma Medica. He led the GE Healthcare crew that developed the imaging expertise behind Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI).

MBI solves the dense-breast prognosis drawback with its capability to see by means of dense tissue. MBI spotlights cancers with a low-dose tracer that concentrates in most cancers cells and, in contrast to mammography, is painless.

Taking part in a pivotal function in Dr. Hugg’s inspiration was his spouse and her expertise with mammograms.

“I all the time give my spouse credit score,” stated Dr. Hugg, who holds 20 patents. “She informed me in regards to the terrible expertise of getting her breasts mashed throughout a mammogram after which being known as again for extra checks and biopsies. And these disagreeable checks nonetheless miss most early-stage cancers in ladies with dense breasts.”

After main the GE Healthcare crew in growing the expertise that made MBI potential, the chance arose to accumulate and develop their MBI product line. James and his co-founders shaped SmartBreast, raised $2.4 million in the course of the pandemic, and negotiated a sturdy take care of GE. After SmartBreast grows the MBI market, GE needs to repurchase the MBI product line.

Dr. Hugg sees nice market potential in Asia, the place 70% of girls have dense breasts. Particularly, India and China signify untapped markets for SmartBreast expertise.

However the U.S. represents a fair higher alternative.

The potential for SmartBreast’s success within the U.S. accelerated on March 9, 2023, when the FDA formally acknowledged the dense-breast drawback with its mandate for supplemental screening of girls with dense breasts. Moreover, the Congressional “Discover It Early Act” would require full fee by insurance coverage corporations of the supplemental dense-breast screening value.

“Our timing proper now,” Dr. Hugg stated, “couldn’t be higher.”

Go to smartbreast.com to study extra.