Intramammary Extension of Breast Cancer: Diagnosis with MR Mammography

Purpose: Intramammary extension of breast cancer was investigated using contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging by comparing MR findings with the histopathology of specimens used for pretreatment planning. Materials and Methods: Thirty-nine breast cancers were examined. The dynamic protocol was performed with a 2- or 3-dimensional fast spin echo sequence (1.5 T), once before and 2-5 times immediately after Gd-DTPA administration with an original fat suppression technique. The findings were correlated with the histopathology. Results: All main tumors showed early enhancement. All with direct invasion histopathologically showed spicular enhancement. The four patients who had separate nodular enhancement showed satellite lesions histopathologically. Three-typed MR findings were found to be indicative of an intraductal component. Conclusion: Various forms of breast cancer were reliably demonstrated using MR imaging. MR imaging could be useful for the pretreatment planning for patients with breast cancer.