Gynecology & Obstetrics
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0932
ISSN: 2161-0932
Lincoln Faria da Silva
Fluminense Federal University, Brazil
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Gynecol Obstet
Early detection of breast cancer involves two questions: the early diagnosis and screening. In the early diagnosis the first signs and symptoms of cancer are recognized by the patient or health professional before the advance of the disease. On the other hand, screening tests are performed in asymptomatic individuals in order to identify those with abnormalities suggestive of breast cancer before any symptoms and/or sign of this disease. Screening is divided into two types: the opportunistic and the organized. In opportunistic screening, tests are requested unsystematically in routine consultations whereas in organized screening, tests are ordered systematically to a population at risk, the target population, within a structured program. One of the tests used in screening is mammography. Considered the gold standard, mammography reduces by approximately 30% mortality rate. But mammography equipment forms the image by radiation of the breast, and each time the breast is exposed to X-rays, the risk of cancer increases by 2% and premenopausal breast is even more sensitive to radiation. Because of the difficulty to obtain access to the most appropriate screening test for breast cancer, the mammography, especially for women with low levels of education and socioeconomic status, it is necessary to define precisely the target population for an organized screening program. In this sense, the thermography has been considered a promising method of screening for the detection of breast cancer, for generating images which reveal the distribution of temperature on the surface of both breasts.
Email: lsilva@ic.uff.br