Breast MRI Detects Additional “Unsuspected” Cancers Not Seen on Mammography or Ultrasoun

Nearly 20% of patients with recently diagnosed breast cancer had additional malignant tumors found only by MRI, according to a study performed at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

A total of 199 patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer underwent breast MRI. “We found additional, unsuspected cancers in the ipsilateral breast (the one that had already been diagnosed with cancer) in 16% of patients; we found cancers in the contralateral breast (the one that had not been diagnosed with cancer) in 4% of patients,” said Petra J. Lewis, MD, lead author of the study. “These patients had already had bilateral mammography and these tumors had not been apparent on mammography,” said Dr. Lewis.

“The detection of an unsuspected tumor is critical. These additional tumors in nearly a fifth of patients are tumors that can potentially grow and not be diagnosed until they are much larger—affecting the health and survival of the patients,” she said.

“This study has been particularly helpful to us as clinicians because it gives us data we can discuss with patients when recommending breast MRI,” said Dr. Lewis.

This study appears in the May issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

About ARRS

The American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) was founded in 1900 and is the oldest radiology society in the United States. Its monthly journal, the American Journal of Roentgenology, began publication in 1906. Radiologists from all over the world attend the ARRS annual meeting to participate in instructional courses, scientific paper presentations and scientific and commercial exhibits related to the field of radiology. The Society is named after the first Nobel Laureate in Physics, Wilhelm Röentgen, who discovered the x-ray in 1895.

Source: American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS)