LONG-TERM SURVIVAL EFFECTS OF PREOPERATIVE BREAST MRI IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST-CONSERVING SURGERY

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Radiology
• Surgical Oncology

Background:

• The role of preoperative breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in breast-conserving surgery (BCS) remains debated.
• Early breast cancer management aims to optimize oncologic outcomes while preserving the breast.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare long-term oncologic outcomes between early breast cancer patients who underwent BCS with or without preoperative breast MRI.
• To evaluate the impact of preoperative breast MRI on overall survival (OS) and local-regional recurrence-free survival (LRFS).

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 1378 early breast cancer patients undergoing BCS between 1996 and 2017.
• Exclusion of patients with carcinoma in situ, neoadjuvant treatment, or post-excision MRI.
• Comparison of oncologic outcomes between 270 patients with preoperative MRI and 1108 controls.

Main Results:

• Surgical margins were significantly wider in the preoperative MRI group.
• No significant differences were observed in 5-year OS (96.9% vs. 94.3%) or LRFS (98.8% vs. 96.5%) between the MRI and control groups.
• Subgroup analysis for hormone receptor-negative or triple-negative breast cancer also showed no significant differences in survival outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Preoperative breast MRI does not appear to be essential for all patients undergoing BCS for early breast cancer.
• Further prospective randomized controlled trials are necessary to establish the precise indications and benefits of preoperative MRI in BCS.