CAROLINA REGIONAL CANCER CENTER ANNOUNCES PILOT PROGRAM FOR ADAPTIVE TREATMENT PLANNING TO FURTHER EXPAND THE BENEFITS OF ITS TOMOTHERAPY HI•ART TREATMENT SYSTEM

Carolina Regional Cancer Center (CRCC), an affiliate of MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, has initiated a Pilot Program to study the benefits of Adaptive Treatment Planning utilizing the TomoTherapy® Hi•Art® Treatment System, one of the most effective forms of radiation treatment available.  Adaptive tr... [read more]

CAROLINA REGIONAL CANCER CENTER WELCOMES NEWS AS AFFILIATE, MUSC HOLLINGS CANCER CENTER, RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS DESIGNATION BY NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE

Carolina Regional Cancer Center (CRCC), affiliated with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Hollings Cancer Center (HCC), announced today that HCC recently received designation by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as one of the top cancer research centers in the country. HCC is one of only 64 other can... [read more]

Breast Cancer Diagnosis

The two most common reasons for breast biopsies are a palpable mass in the breast and a suspicious finding on mammogram.  A palpable mass that is felt in the breast can be evaluated in several ways depending on the recommendations of your doctor.  If a lesion is thought to be fluid filled (cystic) a fine needle aspirate (FNA) is often the 1^st step.  If the cyst contains cancer a FNA will detect this greater than 90% of the time.  If a mammogram is suspicious for tumor the surgeon or radiologist will usually proceed to a biopsy.

Lesions that can be felt have historically been removed using surgical excision.  However, less invasive image guided biopsies are more frequently done today.  These biopsies can be performed with the aide of stereotactic (x-ray), ultrasound or MRI guidance.  Up to 80% of non-palpable mammographic abnormalities can undergo stereotactic biopsy. The advantage of image-guided biopsy is it is a quicker, less invasive and a less expensive way to diagnosis breast cancer. 

In addition, numerous studies have shown the procedure to be statistically equivalent to surgical biopsy.  The false negative rate of stereotactic biopsy is considered less than 2%, which is similar to open biopsy.