Project description
Microwave technology for breast screening
In many countries breast cancer screening in women above 40 years of age who are at risk from the disease is performed using mammography, an ionising radiation-based technique. Although it can help detect breast cancer at an early stage, the technology is not suitable for radiographically dense breasts. To address this limitation the EU-funded MammoScreen project proposes to utilise MammoWave for breast screening, a non-invasive technology that employs non-ionising microwave signals. Contrary to mammography, the MammoWave technology does not apply any compression to the breast and is very effective with dense breasts, making it suitable for younger women below the age of 40.
Objective
Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in women worldwide, affecting 1 in 8 women. The figures from WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer estimate that in 2020 worldwide cases of breast cancer accounted for 24% of all cancers in women (2.26 million women and 685,000 deaths globally). Mammography is the gold standard technology for breast screening, which has been demonstrated through different randomized controlled trials to reduce breast cancer mortality. However, it has limitations and potential harms, such as the use of ionizing radiation, breast compression and performance restrictions due to the intrinsic nature of X-rays. In particular, breast density is a restrictive property that can prevent breast cancer detection in mammograms of women with radiographically dense breasts. Other existing techniques (MRI, Ultrasound, biopsy) also suffer from drawbacks. The overall aim of the MammoScreen proposal is to generate evidence about the use of MammoWave (a technology developed by UBT) as screening technique in population-based programs promoted by National or Regional Health Systems, to reach a revolution in breast screening. To do so, the consortium aims to confirm that MammoWave reaches sensitivity>90% and specificity>95% in BC detection on 10000 study participants undergoing regular screening programs. MammoWave uses safe non-invasive and non-ionizing microwave signals, does not apply any compression to the breast and is very effective with dense breasts. Hence it can extend the breast screening to younger women aged 20-49 (98 million women in Europe). This group accounts for ~30% of breast cancers in 2020. A comprehensive health economic assessment will be undertaken in this project and innovative way to implement patient engagement approaches is sought. An effective policy makers’ engagement plan will be carried out to ensure that MammoWave is recommended as screening approach due to the benefits that it brings to women and healthcare systems. This action is part of the Cancer Mission cluster of projects on ‘Prevention, including Screening.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.2.1 - Health Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
53100 Siena
Italy