UAMS Participating in National Breast Cancer Screening Trial
| The UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute is participating in the National Cancer Institute’s TMIST (Tomosynthesis Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial).
The study compares two standard breast cancer screening methods — tomosynthesis (3D) mammograms and digital (2D) mammograms — and is designed to help researchers determine whether one method is better than the other at finding life-threatening breast cancers.
The study involves 100 clinics and includes 165,000 women in the United States and Canada. The UAMS Breast Center has enrolled 290 participants to date and is able to include even more women.
“By participating in this research study, you can help determine the most effective type of mammogram and how often women should receive screening,” said Gwendolyn Bryant-Smith, M.D., chief of breast imaging at UAMS and local principal investigator for the trial.
In a media briefing held Oct. 7, NCI leaders stated, “We need women to take part to make sure breast cancer screening of the future is appropriate for all women. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time to share the importance of screening mammograms and early detection.”
For anyone wanting to learn more about the study, the UAMS TMIST study coordinator is available at (501) 400-3195 or TMISTstudy@uams.edu.
Women ages 45 to 74 who plan to get a routine screening mammogram at the UAMS Breast Center are eligible for this trial. Participants are randomly assigned to get either a 3D or 2D mammogram every one or two years for the first five years of the study. Researchers will follow each woman’s breast cancer status for a total of eight years by reviewing medical records and possibly conducting phone interviews.
TMIST was developed by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ECOG-ACRIN) Cancer Research Group and the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. ECOG-ACRIN leads the trial.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###