Are You Dense, Inc. and U-Systems Announce Partnership to Increase Awareness of Breast Density and Access to Adjunctive Screening Tools

admin Portfolio News

Apr. 4, 2011 (Business Wire) — Are You Dense, Inc., a non-profit breast cancer organization, today announced a partnership with U-Systems, the leader in automated breast ultrasound, to increase awareness of dense breast tissue and its significance in the early detection of breast cancer. Are You Dense founder Nancy M. Cappello, Ph.D., and U-Systems president and CEO Ron Ho, announced the partnership at a breast density education seminar at U-Systems’ Sunnyvale headquarters.  
 
“Dr. Nancy Cappello has been a leading voice in the national movement for greater awareness of breast density and access to additional imaging tools to improve early detection of cancer in women with dense breasts and we are proud to formally support the organization’s ongoing outreach,” said Ron Ho. “As a direct result of Nancy’s efforts, Connecticut became the first State to require payers to cover screening breast ultrasound for women with dense breast tissue in 2004, and the first to mandate communication of breast density to patients through mammography reports in 2009. Both were landmark bills that have become the model for other states to follow.”  
 
Since the Connecticut legislation passed, comparable bills have been initiated in New York, Florida, Texas and California, with Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Ohio considering legislation for 2011. Other states, such as Missouri and Kansas are actively seeking sponsors for legislative action in 2012. On the federal level, Representatives Steve Israel (NY) and Rosa DeLauro (CT) are working on language for a federal bill to ensure that women receive the necessary information on breast density in their mammography reports.  
 
“Being diagnosed with advanced cancer weeks after receiving a “normal” mammography report, I made a pledge as I endured aggressive treatment to change the standard protocols for how breast density information is communicated to women,” said Dr. Nancy Cappello. “Women across the country, who first heard about their breast density after they received a breast cancer diagnosis at a later stage than necessary, contacted me as they were interested in seeking breast density inform legislation in their state. This led to the formation of the Density Education National Survivors’ Effort (D.E.N.S.E.).  
 
“The generous support of time and resources from U-Systems will allow us to expand our critical outreach efforts with the formation of our new affiliate, Are You Dense Advocacy, Inc., whose mission, along with D.E.N.S.E. is to advocate for and support State and Federal legislative efforts for the communication of breast density information to women. It is time for women with dense breast tissue to have equal access across the nation and beyond to an early breast cancer diagnosis.”  
 
According to Dr. Cappello, the national push was bolstered recently as Nancy Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, expressed Komen’s position that it should be regular practice for doctors to inform women of their breast density and that it is important for doctors to discuss with their patients with dense breasts what additional screening tools might be appropriate for them.  
 
A growing body of research demonstrates a strong link between breast density and increased cancer risk; up to 4-6 times in one study (Boyd, et al. New England Journal of Medicine 2007;356:227-36M). The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed 35 percent of breast cancer goes undetected by mammography in women with dense breasts as density masks the appearance of tumors. Since both dense breast tissue and cancer appear white on a mammogram, it is difficult to detect cancer when there is increased dense breast tissue. As breast density increases, the accuracy of the mammogram decreases.  
 
U-Systems is also the sponsor of the national SOMO•INSIGHT Clinical Study, which is designed to evaluate whether digital mammography in combination with somo•v ABUS is more sensitive than a routine screening mammogram alone in detecting breast cancer in women with dense breast tissue. More than 13,000 women have participated in the study which is actively recruiting up to 20,000 women at multiple breast imaging centers nationwide. To date, the study has identified a significant number of mammographically negative breast cancers that were subsequently detected by ABUS.  
 
“Moving forward, we encourage women to talk to their doctor about breast density when they get their annual mammogram. Next, I would encourage them to join with Are You Dense and Are You Dense Advocacy and contact local and national legislators to increase awareness about this issue, which can lead to the early detection of breast cancer and help to reduce pain and suffering of women and their families and save lives,” Dr. Cappello added.  
 
About Are You Dense  
 
Are You Dense, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to informing and educating the public about dense breast tissue and its significance for the early detection of breast cancer. Its sister affiliate Are You Dense Advocacy, Inc. was recently formed to focus on legislative efforts and changes to public policy in breast cancer screening protocols for early detection. For more information, visit www.areyoudense.org.  
 
About U-Systems  
 
U-Systems is the leader in developing automated breast ultrasound. The U-Systems somo•v Automated Breast Ultrasound System (ABUS) is currently cleared under 510(k), indicated for use as an adjunct to mammography for B-mode ultrasonic imaging of a patient’s breast when used with an automatic scanning linear array transducer. The device is not intended to be used as a replacement for screening mammography. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.u-systems.com.  
 
 
 
 
for U-Systems  
 
Chris K. Joseph, 510-435-4031  
 
chris@ckjcomm.com  
 
or  
 
Diana  
Soltesz, 818-592-6747  
 
diana@dsmmedia.com