Statlife, a medical software company, is helping medical professionals to inform their patients about breast density levels with its decision support tools.
More than 31 US states have passed legislation that requires radiologists, gynaecologists and primary care physicians to notify their patients about breast density levels after annual mammograms. These rates are determined by the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) that was established by the American College of Radiology.
Physicians are more conflicted about the best way to notify patients about breast density levels, and what follow-up screening modalities should be considered and when they should be taken.
Headquartered in Paris, France, with a subsidiary in Boston, US, Statlife specialises in statistical data mining applied to P4 medicine: predictive, preventive, personalised and participative. Its software for personalised breast cancer screening in all women was developed in collaboration with the Gustave Roussy Institute, the largest comprehensive cancer research centre in Europe.
Statlife’s flagship product, MammoRisk, is a decision support tool that assists physicians with creating a personalised screening plan for their patients. It assesses breast cancer risk by using the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium database, which comprises one million US-based women. Risk is analysed with a proprietary method called the ‘nearest neighbour’, a nonparametric calculation with greater accuracy that uses five of the most relevant risk factors, including breast density. This method has an excellent calibration of 0.99%, which is formed from a ratio of predicted versus observed cases.
Statlife’s decision support tools consist of two separate products. DenSeeMammo assesses breast density with imaging comparison technology that uses a database of images, which have been assessed by a consensus of Mammography Quality Standards Act and Program-certified radiologists. This method mimics the visual reading of a radiologist. DenSeeMammo measures breast density, while MammoRisk assesses breast cancer risk. The company’s products are intended for radiologists, gynaecologists and a range of other healthcare professionals.