[MRI-guided biopsy of suspicious abnormalities in the breast]

In a 55-year-old woman, an echographically occult breast tumour was only visible in one direction on mammography. MRI-guided needle localisation of the lesion followed by surgical excision biopsy were then carried out for diagnostic purposes. In a second woman, 61 years of age, mammographic needle localisation of a deep, echographically occult, lesion was unsuccessful. She then also underwent MRI-guided needle localisation followed by surgical excision biopsy. A third woman, also 61 years of age, with known carcinoma underwent an MRI staging study. This revealed a second, mammographically and echographically occult, lesion for which MRI-guided large-core needle biopsy was done. MRI of the breast has a high sensitivity for the detection of invasive breast carcinoma. MRI of the breast reveals suspicious lesions that cannot be seen on the conventional mammogram or by echography in 15-25% of the cases. In order to obtain tissue from these lesions for histopathology, MRI-guided biopsy techniques have been developed. The most commonly used methods are MRI-guided needle localisation followed by surgical excision biopsy and MRI-guided large-core needle biopsy. The demand for MRI-guided breast interventions is growing because of the increasing use of MRI of the breast in clinical practice.