In the area of diagnosis, M. D. Anderson radiologists have been at the forefront in developing modern mammography techniques and reducing the X-ray exposure level. Dedicated specialists in diagnostic imaging have more combined experience than any other institution in the nation. Fine needle aspiration biopsy is another diagnostic tool used at M. D. Anderson for many years. All breast cancer patients are evaluated by experts in surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, pathology and diagnostic radiology. Working together, they plan a sequence of treatments tailored to each patient.
Plastic surgeons participate in team planning when patients are interested in breast reconstruction.
One-third of the breast cancer patients undergoing mastectomies at M. D. Anderson now have immediate reconstruction. The interdisciplinary philosophy also has been highly productive in breast cancer research at M. D. Anderson. Scientists in cell biology, molecular genetics, tumor biology, biomathematics, biochemistry and immunology are conducting projects that, in concert with physicians, seek to transfer knowledge gained in the laboratory as rapidly as possible to enhance patient therapies and design effective prevention strategies. Among the first eight grants provided by the fund are two promising studies to design blood tests that can detect primary breast cancer and also help find breast cancer cells that have spread to other sites much earlier than current methods. Another grant from the Connally Fund allowed a scientist to expand investigations that are the foundation for one of the gene therapy studies involving breast cancer patients.