Progress report from the American College of Radiology Breast MR Imaging Lexicon Committee

Given the wide variety of terms for abnormal findings on contrast-enhanced breast MR imaging studies, the United States Public Health Services' Office on Women's Health, the Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Research, and the American College of Radiology, funded a committee (or "working group") of international experts to develop a standard language for breast MR imaging reporting. During the last three years, the group members have developed a preliminary Breast MR Imaging Lexicon to describe abnormal contrast-enhancing findings in the breast on MR imaging studies, with a special focus on lesion morphology on high-resolution scans and kinetic curve data descriptions. The initial version of the Breast MR Imaging Lexicon has undergone preliminary testing and is undergoing further development and refinement based on test results. Future work on the new Breast MR Imaging Lexicon includes continued lexicon development, accumulation of a breast MR imaging case set for lexicon testing, and planning for subsequent education for general radiologists on the new lexicon.