The technique is being tested at ten centers to determine if it can offer a look at the early cellular changes inside the milk duct. Researchers specifically look at women who have normal mammograms to see if there are atypical or malignant cells in their ducts. The ultimate goal is to develop a minimally invasive test that could be used along with mammograms for improved breast cancer screening. Most breast cancer starts out in the duct of the breast. In the past, doctors were not able to access this area to test the cells.
Ductal lavage involves a two-step process.
First, doctors identify the ducts in the breast that produce fluid by using a pump. Doctors want to test the ducts that secrete fluid because they are the ducts at the highest risk of developing cancer. Doctors wash out these ducts with saline to obtain thousands of cells that line the ducts to examine them under a microscope. Pathologists then determine whether the samples are normal, atypical or malignant. A mammogram's ability to detect breast cancer can be limited in the very earliest stages where we would ideally like to detect it, even before the cancer has started to form.