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Staging of suspected breast cancer: effect of MR imaging and MR-guided biopsy
S G Orel1, M D Schnall, C M Powell
1Department of Radiology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104, USA.
Purpose:
To investigate the effect of contrast material-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging on staging of breast cancer in patients with mammographically or clinically suspected tumor.
Materials And Methods:
One hundred seventy-six patients underwent breast MR imaging at 1.5 T before excisional biopsy of a suspicious mammographic or palpable abnormality. Diagnostic imaging studies in patients with biopsy-proved or presumed breast carcinoma were reviewed.
Results:
Sixty-four patients met the study criteria. MR imaging enabled detection of all 57 invasive breast cancers and nine of 15 in situ cancers. In 22 patients (34%), MR imaging depicted one or more cancers not visible at mammography, 13 (20%) of which were unsuspected multifocal or diffuse disease. As a result of the increased sensitivity of MR imaging compared with that of mammography, clinical staging and subsequent treatment were altered in seven patients (11%).
Conclusion:
MR imaging allows detection of mammographically and clinically occult foci of carcinoma in patients with suspected breast cancer.