MRI is a medical imaging technique which uses a strong but safe magnetic field to image the body. MRI excels at the evalulation of soft tissue structures and has been demonstrated to be very useful for evaluation of breast disease. Breast MRI has been available since the 1990's, however recent advances in MRI technology have make modern breast MRI an increasingly important tool in the early detection and accurate evaluation of breast disease.
MRI of the breast is not a replacement for mammography or ultrasound imaging but rather a supplemental tool for detecting and staging breast cancer and other breast abnormalities.
The American Cancer Society has recently published information that breast MRI is useful in the early detection of breast cancer in a select population of woman who have various genetic predispositions to breast cancer. Other medical studies are currently being conducted to determine whether MRI and other imaging methods can contribute to the early detection and prevention of deaths from breast cancer.
New Guidelines from The American Cancer Society recommend annual breast MRI and mammography beginning at age 30 for women at high risk for breast cancer. These recommendations include women with the following conditions:
1. Known BRCA1 or BRCA2 Breast Cancer gene mutations
2. A strong family history of ovarian cancer
3. A 20% or greater lifetime risk of breast cancer
(This risk can be calculated by using a scientific tool
that calculates a person's lifetime risk of developing
breast cancer
4. Women who have received radiation therapy to the
chest between the ages of 10 and 30
Breast MRI is also commonly
performed to:
1. Determine the extent of breast cancer in newly
diagnosed patients prior to breast
conservation
surgery
2. Identify early breast concer not detected through
other means, especially in women with dense
breast tissue and those at high risk for the breast
cancer
3. Evaluate indeterminated breast abnormalities detected by mammography or ulrasound
4. Distinguish between scar tissue and recurrent tumors
5. Determine whether cancer detected by mammography, ultrasound, or after surgical biopsy has
spread further in the breast is present
in the other breast or has spread into the chest wall
6. Assess the effect of breast cancer chemotherapy
7. Provide additional information on a diseased breast to make treatment decisions
