The sternum: An important review area when reporting pre-surgical staging breast MRI studies

Identification and assessment of extramammary findings on contrast-enhanced breast MRI scans is particularly important in the setting of newly diagnosed invasive cancer as metastatic lesions may be encountered in the liver, lungs, pleural cavity or bones. Establishing that stage IV disease is present has a profound effect on patient management. The sternum is routinely included on breast MRI studies and can be an early site for breast cancer metastases. These appear as enhancing lesions with high signal on fat-suppressed T2-weighted images. However, incidental benign lesions, notably haemangiomas, may also be encountered, and careful analysis is required to avoid false-positive results. Clinical context is important with a much lower likelihood of malignancy in the setting of routine screening of young women with no personal history of breast cancer. This pictorial essay illustrates findings encountered with lesions in the sternum and offers insights into how to interpret and manage them.