WELLINGTON, New Zealand, March 9, 2016 – Wellington digital health company Volpara Solutions has been selected as a research collaborator with the Cancer Institute/Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CICAMS) in Beijing. This is the first Chinese installation of the company’s world-leading breast density assessment software.
“CICAMS is using Volpara to investigate the relationship between breast density and the risk of developing breast cancer, and the types of breast cancer occurring in Chinese women. This is a very important study given the explosion of breast cancer across Asia. We expect that it will help us understand the root causes of that explosion and what we can do about it,” said Dr. Ralph Highnam, Chief Executive Officer of Volpara Solutions.
Although the incidence of breast cancer in Asia is lower than in Western countries, the rate is increasing rapidly, a phenomenon attributed to changes in diet and lifestyle. Breast cancers in Asian women occur at younger ages and are more aggressive than in Western women. Women with high breast density have not only a greater risk of developing breast cancer, but an increased risk of any breast cancer present being undetected by mammographic (breast x-ray) screening. The CICAMS project will study these risks in relation to women in China.
“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to use Volpara for Chinese women, and honoured to be the first users of VolparaDensity in China,” said Dr. Jing Li, Professor, Department of Imaging Diagnosis. “I’m impressed by the efficiency and accuracy of VolparaDensity, which we will use to systematically investigate the correlation of breast density and cancer for Chinese women. We hope our study results will contribute to the early diagnosis of breast cancer in China.”
Volpara Solutions’ collaboration with CICAMS is the latest in a series of major international research projects, including KARMA in Sweden and DENSE in the Netherlands, which have selected VolparaDensity as their automated density tool. The most rigorously tested product on the market, with over 140 publications, including 33 peer-reviewed studies, VolparaDensity provides the objective, quantitative data that helps radiologists accurately inform women of their breast density.
Volpara Solutions currently markets its suite of breast density assessment software applications in 34 countries, with over 9 million women having been analysed for research and clinical outcomes.
