Breast MRI: EUSOBI recommendations for women’s information

Abstract

This paper summarizes information about breast MRI to be provided to women and referring physicians. After listing contraindications, procedure details are described, stressing the need for correct scheduling and not moving during the examination. The structured report including BI-RADS® categories and further actions after a breast MRI examination are discussed. Breast MRI is a very sensitive modality, significantly improving screening in high-risk women. It also has a role in clinical diagnosis, problem solving, and staging, impacting on patient management. However, it is not a perfect test, and occasionally breast cancers can be missed. Therefore, clinical and other imaging findings (from mammography/ultrasound) should also be considered. Conversely, MRI may detect lesions not visible on other imaging modalities turning out to be benign (false positives). These risks should be discussed with women before a breast MRI is requested/performed. Because breast MRI drawbacks depend upon the indication for the examination, basic information for the most important breast MRI indications is presented. Seventeen notes and five frequently asked questions formulated for use as direct communication to women are provided. The text was reviewed by Europa Donna–The European Breast Cancer Coalition to ensure that it can be easily understood by women undergoing MRI.Key Points• Information on breast MRI concerns advantages/disadvantages and preparation to the examination• Claustrophobia, implantable devices, allergic predisposition, and renal function should be checked• Before menopause, scheduling on day 7–14 of the cycle is preferred• During the examination, it is highly important that the patient keeps still• Availability of prior examinations improves accuracy of breast MRI interpretationElectronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00330-015-3807-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Quantitative Assessment of Breast Parenchymal Uptake on 18F-FDG PET/CT: Correlation with Age, Background Parenchymal Enhancement, and Amount of Fibroglandular Tissue on MRI

“…In premenopausal patients, MRI was performed between the seventh and 14th days of the menstrual cycle to minimize hormonal influence on BPE (27).…”

MARIA M4: clinical evaluation of a prototype ultrawideband radar scanner for breast cancer detection

“…Magnetic resonance imaging is currently used for initial cancer detection in women at high risk of developing BC but is a complex investigation with high direct and indirect costs. [8][9][10][11] MMG is one of the most effective detection techniques, but suffers from relatively low sensitivity, entails exposure to ionizing radiation and also involves uncomfortable compression of the breast. MMG also performs less well in younger, more dense breasts, which is pertinent as breast density is now established as an independent risk factor for developing BC irrespective of other known risk factors.…”

In situ validation of VEGFR-2 and α v ß 3 integrin as targets for breast lesion characterization

“…In addition, one has to consider that within our study only a histological measure of the vascular volume was assessed. With respect to vessel functionality, better results obtained by DCE-MRI [29,30] may be explained by the functional nature of the parameters (e.g. peak enhancement and washout), which, besides the blood volume, are also influenced by perfusion, vascular leakage and enhanced interstitial retention of the contrast agent.…”