MRI Breast Cancer Screening In High-Risk Women Boosts Detection Rates

Using MRI to screen women with a history of lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) improved the rate of cancer detection, a pair of new studies show.

MRI shows known breast cancer on the left side of the image. The left breast (right side of the image) reveals a small occult cancer that was not clinically apparent or visible on the screening mammogram. (Image courtesy University of Washington Breast Center)

LCIS is a non-invasive breast cancer that requires no immediate or active treatment, according to the American Cancer Society; however having LCIS increases the risk that these women will later develop a malignant tumor. Consequently these women are closely followed with yearly mammograms and a clinical breast exams.


Adding magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to screen for
breast cancer is controversial. A 2007 European review of
MRI with mammography for high-risk women found that
MRI improved sensitivity to as high as 94 percent, but specificity with MRI was less consistent with a 3-5-fold
higher risk of patient recall for false positive results. (Link to published site)