Breast MRI

Breast MRI is one of many imaging techniques used for the early detection of breast cancer. According to a Kalorama Information report, breast MRI is one the fastest growing trends in breast imaging.

 

The American Cancer Society recommends that MRI screening be done annually in addition to mammography starting at age 30 for women at high risk for breast cancer, which is defined as a greater than 20 percent lifetime risk, determined by a number of factors such as a known BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, first-degree relatives with one of those mutations or a history of radiation therapy to the chest. The Society recommends that women at moderately increased risk, defined as between 15 and 20 percent lifetime risk, talk to their doctors about the benefits of adding MRI screening to their yearly mammogram.

 

According to a study published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, “MRI surveillance appears to be a viable alternative to prophylactic mastectomy for women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.”

 

Recent studies report that MRI scans may offer a new way to detect breast cancer at its earliest stages and perhaps even prevent cancer among high-risk women, according to the Kalorama report, Medical Imaging MRI & Ultrasound Markets, published in August 2009.
“MRI has an accuracy rate for ductal carcinoma in situ of about 90 percent when mammograms only find it 56 percent of the time,” according to the report. “A facility that processes about 20,000 mammograms annually should consider installing a breast MRI system,” Kalorama recommends.

 

These and other findings have prompted imaging manufacturers to create dedicated breast MRI scanners and MRI scanners with specific breast applications and coils. Market-leading breast MRI manufacturers include Aurora Imaging Technology, which specializes in breast MRI, and major imaging manufacturers Siemens Healthcare and GE Healthcare.

 

According to Siemens’ senior director of product marketing for MR, Milind Dhamankar, most MRI vendors are working to create solutions for breast imaging, either with a dedicated system or breast-specific applications on general MRI systems.

 

“Whether they come out with dedicated systems or not is a topic every vendor considers,” he says. “We’ve seen the controversies over whether MR really helps in breast. There’s so much lobbyism on either side, so it’s a mix right now, as people are trying to be more efficient.” For that reason, Dhamankar predicts that many manufacturers will choose to provide breast solutions on existing MRI equipment, such as having the breast biopsy solution at the scanner, rather than creating dedicated systems.

 

Read Full Article in the November 2011 issue of Medical Dealer Magazine.