MRI Best Supplemental Imaging Modality for Detecting Breast Cancer

(HealthDay News) — For non-high-risk women with dense breasts and mammography negative for breast cancer, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the best supplemental imaging modality for detecting cancer, according to a review published online Jan. 31 in Radiology.

Heba Hussein, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Toronto, and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing clinical outcomes of the most common available supplemental screening modalities in average- and intermediate-risk women with dense breasts and mammography negative for breast cancer. Supplemental imaging modalities included digital breast tomosynthesis, handheld ultrasound (US), automated breast US, and MRI. Data across 22 studies, including 261,233 screened patients, were analyzed.

The researchers found that 541 cancers missed at mammography were detected with supplemental modalities among the 132,166 screened patients with dense breasts and mammography negative for cancer. MRI was superior to other supplemental modalities in terms of cancer detection rate (CDR), with an incremental CDR of 1.52 per 1,000 screenings, including invasive CDR and in situ disease (1.31 and 1.91 per 1,000 screenings, respectively). No differences were seen in the positive predictive value of recall or the positive predictive value of biopsies performed. With the exception of MRI, no significant differences were observed in any other screening modalities.

“It is too early to advocate worldwide for the implementation of supplemental MRI because more studies are needed to make conclusions about the relative effectiveness of the other modalities,” the authors write.

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