Muscat: The Sultan Qaboos Comprehensive Cancer Care and Research Centre (SQCCCRC), has launched a new service for the diagnosis of breast cancer, through magnetic resonance imaging-guided biopsy.
The Department of Radiology and Nuclear medicine at SQCCCRC inaugurated an advanced technique called “MRI guided breast biopsy” for first time in Oman.
The technology provides a high level of accuracy for diagnosing cases, assessing risks, and determining the appropriate treatment plan for patients. It performs MRI-guided tissue sampling of breast lumps, to locate suspicious tissue and accurately extract samples for the purpose of checking for cancer, usually invisible on a mammogram, ultrasound, or other breast examination.
Introduction of MRI-guided biopsy technology in the Sultanate of Oman will contribute to the early detection of breast cancer in groups that are at high risk of the disease and undergo a regular breast MRI program, due to the presence of a strong family history of cancer, or the presence of genetics that increase the possibility of cancer or other conditions. This technology can detect subtle changes in the breast early.
Breast cancer is among the most common cancers among women globally and locally. According to a Ministry of Health report for the year 2019, the rate of diagnosed cases of breast cancer in the third and fourth stages was 31 percent. The existence of such advanced technology will contribute to increasing the rates of early detection of cancer and improving the chances of recovery from the disease.