Current Controversies on the Use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Management of Breast Cancer

The use of magnetic resonance imaging in the management of unselected female populations with early stage breast cancer has increased markedly over the past decade. Parallel to this trend many have observed an increased use of mastectomy over breast conservation due to concerns raised by the use of MRI. Similar concerns have led to the use of contra-lateral prophylactic mastectomy in patient populations not tested for potential genetic predisposition. These trends are difficult to understand as they divert from well established clinical paradigms which have been the result of widely accepted clinical research trials with more than three decades of clinical follow up. These trials have asserted that breast conserving surgery remains the accepted approach over mastectomy for the care of the patient with sporadic early stage breast cancer.