Middlesex Hospital Awarded Grant for Molecular Breast Imaging Research

Middlesex Hospital has been awarded a $32,000 grant from the Connecticut Breast Health Initiative. The money will be used to fund radiologist Dr. Ravi Jain’s study on the use of molecular breast imaging for diagnostic purposes.

Middlesex Hospital is proud to be the only hospital in New England to offer dual-headed molecular breast imaging, and it has done so since 2015. Molecular breast imaging uses a radioactive tracer to better detect breast cancer cells. Once injected with the radioactive substance, a special camera scans a patient’s breasts, looking for areas where the substance is concentrated. This technique is often used in conjunction with other techniques, such as mammograms, to give patients the best possible chance at early detection. The advanced technology of Middlesex’s molecular breast imaging scanner results in patients being exposed to a very low dose of radiation.

As with any type of cancer, early detection of breast cancer is important. Early detection helps reduce the number of deaths due to breast cancer and can allow surgeons to save more of a breast during surgery.

The role of molecular breast imaging as a screening test for breast cancer is well established. Other reputable hospitals have shown that molecular breast imaging and mammograms together detect four times more incidents of breast cancer than mammograms alone. Middlesex Hospital’s study will further this research, concentrating on the use of molecular breast imaging as a diagnostic test.

The Hospital will specifically look at what kind of inconclusive mammogram and ultrasound findings can be safely watched instead of biopsied, if molecular breast imaging scans are negative. Ultimately, the goal is reduce the rate of negative biopsies without reducing the rate of cancer detection. This will save patients from physical and psychological harm and may also reduce health care costs.

Since 2015, 485 Middlesex patients have benefited from molecular breast imaging.

“I am so grateful to the Connecticut Breast Health Initiative,” says Dr. Jain. “They are investing in medical research that could lead to better outcomes for our breast cancer patients.”

The Connecticut Breast Health Initiative is a statewide nonprofit formed in 2004 to support leading edge breast cancer education and research. They can be visited at www.ctbhi.org.

Contact Information

Public Relations Director
Amanda Falcone
860-358-6980
amanda.falcone@midhosp.org