Mammometry: Simple Diagnostic Aid in Breast Cancer

In 1956 Lawson of Canada reported that breast cancers generate heat which can be measured and interpreted with diagnostic import. This observation led Lloyd Williams, Lloyd Williams, and Handley of London to confirm Lawson's findings and report their data in 1961. By holding thermopiles 1 cm above the skin, the Lloyd Williams group determined the temperature of 100 breast lesions. If the lesion showed a temperature 1° C greater than a corresponding area of the opposite breast, it was considered “hot.” All 100 lesions were biopsied. Fifty-seven proved to be malignant, 54 of which had been hot. Thus, a direct correlation between thermal and pathological findings was established. The results led to the current use of infrared-sensitive thermographs in detecting breast diseases, including cancer. We have been experimenting with thermography, chiefly in the field of breast cancer detection, since 1962. Our results and those of other investigators have been encouraging. Unquestionably, the thermograph is an important and impressive new addition to the diagnostic arsenal. This report deals with a small, practical skin thermometer we have also been testing in our study of breast diseases. Method and Results Recalling that the early work of Lawson and Lloyd Williams was done with simple thermocouples and thermopiles, in December 1967 we began to investigate a new skin thermometer. It is circular, direct-reading, 1 1/4 inches in diameter, and 1/2 ounce in weight. It somewhat resembles a wrist watch. Temperatures ranging from 80 to 100° F are recorded on the face of the instrument via a thermal button on the back that contacts the skin. The instruments are called “mammometers,” since they are specifically designed for breast temperature studies.5 When a woman reports to us for breast thermography these delicate instruments are gently attached with Scotch tape to the skin in the middle of each quadrant of both breasts. If there are specific symptoms or a palpable mass, extra mammorneters are placed upon the area and upon a precisely similar area of the opposite breast. The mammorneters are left upon the skin a minimum of ten minutes to give them time to register fully. All readings are then recorded on breast diagrams and the differences in temperature between corresponding areas compared. Only elevations greater than 2.5° F are considered significant (Fig. 1). Although mammometers record the heat of an isolated area of each quadrant, most cancers generate heat not only over the tumor but also around the periphery. The mammometer will pick up an indication of this heat even if it is not placed directly over the tumor, alerting the physician to some process at work that should be investigated. Among the first 100 cases we encountered 6 confirmed cancers. The difference in skin temperature over the lesion as compared with a similar area of the other breast was greater than 2.5° F in 5; the temperature elevation in the sixth was not remarkable.