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For Immediate Release
April 18, 2006
Mercy Physician Speaks to National Cancer Group
Oklahoma City — Mercy’s Alan Hollingsworth,
M.D., has been asked to speak this month to the general assembly at the
30th Anniversary Symposium of the American Society of Breast Disease in
Las Vegas, Nevada.
Dr. Hollingsworth, medical director of both Mercy’s
Cancer Program and Mercy Women’s Center, will be joining other breast
cancer specialists including Dr. David Page of Vanderbilt, Dr. Gabriel
Hortobagyi of M.D. Anderson and Lazlo Tabar of Falun Hospital in Sweden.
Dr. Hollingsworth will in particular address “MRI
Screening in High Risk Patients,” where he will introduce the Mercy
Women’s Center protocol, which includes breast density as part of the
unique formula for MRI recommendations.
“Although the American Cancer Society and others
have recommended using breast MRI for high-risk screening, there is
currently scant insurance coverage available for patients,” said Dr.
Hollingsworth, one of the first physicians in the country to establish a
formal risk assessment program for breast cancer. “Yet, breast MRI has
vastly superior sensitivity over mammography in all screening studies
published.”
In 2002, Mercy launched the first comprehensive
breast MRI program in Oklahoma, more than a year prior to the arrival of
breast-dedicated equipment in the state. Since that time, more than
3,700 MRI studies have been performed, and Mercy has garnered a level of
experience that rivals major cancer centers in the U.S.
Mercy has also accumulated the largest blood sample
reservoir anywhere in which specimens are tied to a database that
includes breast MRI outcomes.
“Today, we are bound by risk levels and breast
density in trying to efficiently select patients for high risk screening
with MRI,” said Dr. Hollingsworth. “However, preliminary blood test
results will be included in my presentation at the American Society of
Breast Disease. When a good screening blood test becomes available, it
will replace current guidelines for screening MRI and, hopefully, will
allow better insurance coverage for this expensive technology when used
for asymptomatic screening.”
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