Clinical Research Directory

Spot Compression Ultrasound Compared to Traditional Breast Ultrasound

The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of targeted breast ultrasound ("ultrasound in the grid") performed concurrently with diagnostic mammogram during breast compression with an open mammogram paddle in lesion detection when compared to standard diagnostic breast ultrasound. Open paddle spot tomosynthesis and ultrasound in the grid images will be compared to the standard of care, and outcome measures will include comparing accuracy of lesion detection with the new technique versus the standard of care and differences in time to acquire the images for the new technique versus the current standard of care. Radiologists will also review the different sets of images and give confidence scores of lesion correspondence between mammogram and ultrasound. This will be a pilot study of 25 patients to demonstrate proof of concept and is intended to lay the foundation for future funded research with a larger patient population.

Predicting Breast Cancer With the BRAVE System

Breast cancer predominates among cancer diagnoses in Canadian women. It accounts for around 25% of new cases and contributes to 13% of all cancer-related deaths. In 2020, almost 27,400 Canadian women were diagnosed with breast cancer and 5,000 of them died from it. Mammography is still the preferred method for screening for breast cancer. Although progress has been made over the years, mammography does have its drawbacks. These include physical discomfort for patients, exposure to X-rays and reduced effectiveness in dense breasts. The study team is therefore interested in developing a new breast cancer detection method, the BRAVE method. The BRAVE method, short for "BRA-based Visco-Elastography", uses the high contrast of elastic stiffness in malignant breast tumors to detect possible cancer cases without the need for X-rays or breast compression. The first phase, carried out on a small scale pilot study, aimed to assess the method's ability to distinguish a breast with no abnormalities from one with confirmed cancer. The second phase (current phase), carried out on a larger scale, aims to confirm the sensitivity and specificity of the method in detecting malignant lesions, i.e. to determine whether the method is capable of distinguishing between several types of breast masses.