Electrical impedance measurement of the breast: effect of hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle

Eur Radiol. 2000;10(10):1550-4. doi: 10.1007/s003300000554.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of hormonal factors on electrical impedance measurement with a new device TS2000, which is a new method in diagnosis of breast disease. Twenty-one healthy pre-menopausal women volunteers (aged 24-39 years) were examined with the TS2000 once/week for two menstrual cycles. On average, at least one spot was present in 47% of images of women not taking oral contraceptives and in 44% of women taking oral contraceptives (OC). The number of spots varied over the menstrual cycle and had a maximum in week 3 and week 5. We found that after 1 week only 15% of spots were present and no spots persisted for three consecutive weeks. These data, if further supported by observations on other populations of women, show that false-positive results are common in pre-menopausal women; however, these false-positive spots do not persist for long periods of time. This information may provide a basis for discrimination between true-positive and false-positive spots on the TS2000 image, since the latter would be expected to disappear on short-term follow up.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Breast / drug effects
  • Breast / physiology*
  • Breast Diseases / diagnosis
  • Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal / pharmacology*
  • Diagnostic Imaging / methods*
  • Electric Impedance
  • False Positive Reactions
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Menstrual Cycle / drug effects
  • Menstrual Cycle / physiology*
  • Reproducibility of Results

Substances

  • Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal