As many as 70,218 Indian women died of breast cancer in 2012 and deaths from the disease are predicted to increase significantly by 2020.

Reasons such as lack of awareness about self-assessment, absence of a population-based screening programme, cultural barriers, reluctance to share problems with male doctors and ignorance contribute to this alarming rate. These facts emerged during a day-long conference at the Peerless Hospital and B. K. Roy Research Centre which organised the second Peerless Breast Imaging Update in association with Breast Imaging Society, India, (BISI) on 24th June.

According to data from the Indian Council of Medical Research, more than 50 per cent of breast cancers are detected late in our country. One of the prominent factors for this is the shortage of skilled medical personnel, including radiologists. Both developed and developing countries are struggling to supply adequate numbers of trained, qualified health care professionals, radiologists and imaging professionals.

This lack of qualified specialists is one of the major challenges for the Indian health care industry. About 48 per cent of breast cancer patients are young, that is less than 50 years old at the time of diagnosis. The conference addressed the technical nuances of breast imaging which included didactic talks, panel discussions and workshops on breast intervention. Some of the renowned doctors and professors of the country, known for their diagnostic and interventional skills in Breast Radiology, spoke on 24th June.

The theme of this year’s conference was BI-RADS (Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System) and the aim was to clear concepts and answer questions on BI-RADS in Breast Imaging. A one-of-its-kind hands-on workshop on mammography positioning was also introduced at the conference. Young professionals were taught the importance of good positioning that forms the backbone of good mammography. The training was imparted along with images, video footage and live examples on the state-of-the-art Digital Mammography machine available at Peerless Hospital, Kolkata.