Nation's Top Breast Imaging Experts in San Antonio May 18-21 for Society of Breast Imaging 10th Postgraduate Course and Biennial Meeting

RESTON, Va., May 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Many of the world's top breast imaging experts will gather in San Antonio May 18-21 for the Society of Breast Imaging 10th Postgraduate Course and Biennial Meeting to be held at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio. Seventy eight top experts will take part in more than 40 workshops and sessions focused on breast cancer screening and risk assessment, breast MRI, advanced technologies and a multidisciplinary approach to the diagnosis and treatment of breast disease.

"Mammography has helped reduce the breast cancer death rate in this country by nearly a third since 1990, but we must continue to improve upon screening techniques and our approach to total breast cancer care. In European countries like Denmark and Sweden, where screening programs are more organized, the breast cancer death rate has been cut almost in half over the last 20 years. While we continue to save a significant number of women through mammography and other diagnostic techniques, many more breast cancer deaths can be avoided if more women choose to begin annual mammograms at age 40 and if we continue to improve and refine the medical approach to combating this deadly disease," said Phil Evans, MD, president of the Society of Breast Imaging.

The course is designed to help radiologists, technologists and medical physicists involved in breast imaging to:

• Review data on mammography screening and the recent controversies, including that supporting routine screening, potential harms of screening and the assessment of breast cancer risk
• Explore use of breast MRI in cancer and disease assessment, its appropriate use, and to understand the use of breast MRI guided biopsy, including management
• Receive current information on the biology of breast cancer from the pathologist's perspective, and include insight from the medical oncology perspective
• Discuss recent technologies, such as tomosynthesis, digital imaging and nuclear medicine techniques, and their role in imaging breast disease
• Receive the latest on a variety of breast imaging topics, including biopsy, patient interaction, working in a multidisciplinary environment, challenging cases using ultrasound, MRI and multimodalities, accreditation, maintenance of certification (MOC) and medical legal issues

Physician attendees can earn up to 21 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ with opportunities for CME in all areas of accreditation: Breast MRI, Breast Ultrasound, Stereotactic Breast Biopsy and digital mammography. Up to 24 Category A credit hours of the ARRT requirements are available for radiologic technologist attendees.

For more information regarding the SBI 10th Postgraduate Course, visit www.sbi-online.org.

*NOTE: The SBI meeting is separate/different from the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium which largely centers on breast cancer treatment (as opposed to imaging/screening focus of the SBI meeting).

SOURCE Society of Breast Imaging