By Erika Minoshima and Peter Lee, IAEA Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications
Breast Cancer Awareness Month, held in October, promotes screening and prevention of this disease, which affects millions of women. The IAEA is helping to improve access to cancer care, including in the Caribbean, where over 40 medical imaging professionals from 13 Caribbean countries have been better equipped with skills to analyse image and perform biopsies for breast cancer. Timely diagnosis and treatment are essential to treat breast cancer successfully, but cancer care around the globe is unevenly distributed.
The IAEA teamed up with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and City Cancer Challenge (C/Can) to provide training in breast imaging diagnostics at MD Anderson’s facility in Houston, Texas. The regional course, provided under the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme, provided fundamental principles of breast imaging and interpretation through both theoretical knowledge and practical expertise.
“No longer do I feel helpless in the fight against cancer – no longer will I be tired of seeing patients die that could have been saved with timely diagnosis and adequate treatment,” said a surgeon from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines who took part in the course Erica Dionne Jordan. “We were trained to perform minimally invasive breast biopsies. We were given both digital and physical supporting materials to enhance our training and train others,” she added, stating: “MD Anderson Cancer Center and the IAEA have helped establish a more educated workforce – one that can not only interpret clinical findings but also adequately read mammograms and request particular views to aid in diagnoses.”
According to the International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC) Global Cancer Observatory (IARC GLOBOCAN), breast cancer was the most common women’s cancer in 157 out of 185 countries in 2022. In the Caribbean, the disease is the second highest in terms of cancer incidence and mortality – afflicting nearly 15 000 people and claiming nearly 6000 lives annually. With nearly 2.3 million cases detected and over 670 000 breast cancer deaths in 2022, it was the second-most diagnosed form of cancer worldwide.
“With its partners, the IAEA has made great strides in establishing and improving breast imaging across the Caribbean, and more broadly around the world,” explained a radiologist in the IAEA’s Division of Human Health and the technical officer for the training course Miriam Lette. “Without a diagnosis, the breast cancer patient simply cannot be treated. Without timely diagnosis, treatment is delayed; cure rates are decreased; and morbidity increased. Many of our Member State populations suffer from insufficient breast imaging capacity,” she said.
During the training, experts from the IAEA, MD Anderson, PAHO and C/Can delivered lectures on breast anatomy, breast cancer epidemiology, risk factors, pathologies, clinical guidelines and image acquisition protocols for various clinical scenarios – with interactive hands-on image acquisition simulation and biopsy practice sessions. In underlining the importance of early detection, risk management, safety and image quality, they highlighted how essential a multidisciplinary approach is in treating cancer.
Instructors delivered common and parallel programmes tailored to the specific training needs of two diagnostic imaging professional groups – technologists (radiographers and mammographers) and physicians (namely radiologists and those who are also involved in the interpretation of breast images such as gynaecologists, oncologists and surgeons) – from Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago, strengthening cancer screening and diagnosis for the Caribbean region’s 3.8 million women.
Beyond providing financial support, the IAEA procured 52 breast mannequins on which participants could practice. For their part, MD Anderson and PAHO are providing participants with continued long distance teaching through their Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) telementoring partnership.
The joint course, developed through collaboration between the IAEA and MD Anderson, enhanced regional capabilities to provide better support for breast cancer. MD Anderson is the latest IAEA Collaborating Centre in cancer care and first in North America.
“This regional course – the first joint training under the IAEA’s recently expanded cooperation with MD Anderson –highlights the importance of collaboration in tackling cancer challenges across the globe,” said Director of the IAEA’s Division of Human Health May Abdel-Wahab. “By working hand-in-hand with our partners to address specific needs, we can strengthen the cancer care capacities of IAEA Member States – enabling equitable care for all.”
