Thermography: Report of the Radiographic and Thermographic Examinations of the Breasts of 100 Patients

One hundred patients referred to the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute during the period from Jan. 1 to March 30, 1965, for roentgen examination of the breast received concurrent thermographic examinations. Not all patients admitted to the hospital's breast service were referred for mammography. For this reason, the clinical indications for referral and incidence of biopsy examination remain essentially the same as those established in previous years. The results of the x-ray and thermographic examinations are evaluated within the present series and with respect to previous series of radiographic breast examinations undertaken in this institution (1, 3). Gershon-Cohen and Haberman (2) are among the early investigators of the medical use of thermography in various diseases, and only a few to date have employed thermography in diagnosing breast disease. Table I classifies the statistical results in a series of 1,512 patients submitted to radiographic examination of the breast performed and interpreted between July 1962 and December 1964. Of these patients, 479 were admitted to the hospital with lesions subsequently proved by biopsy; 235 were malignant and 244 were benign. No allowance was made for indeterminate radiographic examinations, as a malignant or benign diagnosis was favored for coding purposes. The roentgen results in 11 cases considered indeterminate were coded as probable carcinoma and therefore false positive; 5 were coded as benign or false negative. Of the lesions proved by biopsy, the incidence of benign and malignant was approximately the same. The sensitivity in this series proved by biopsy was 87 per cent, and the specificity was 88 per cent. Eighty-six patients with malignant tumors proved by biopsy were not included in the statistical analysis shown in Table I because the biopsy preceded the radiographic examination or a malignant condition had been previously revealed, and they were receiving radiotherapy as the treatment of choice. In some patients radiographic evidence of a second primary tumor existed, but due to widespread metastases biopsies were not undertaken. Table II groups the statistical results of the radiographic and thermographic examinations of the breast in 100 patients, performed and interpreted from Jan. 1 to March 30, 1965. There are many similarities between findings in this small series and those in the larger series of the radiographic examination of the breast. The incidence of tumors demonstrated by biopsy and the distribution of benign and malignant lesions are approximately the same. The only significant variable introduced in the small series was the thermographic examination of the breasts. With few exceptions, the thermogram was interpreted without prior knowledge of the clinical or radiographic findings. The mammogram was then interpreted with clinical information.