Breast MRI – Should All Women Get This Test
Patients often ask me: * Should i get an MRI? * (magnetic resonance imaging). The solution from me is: * Only if you’d like it. *
Why should we Not all get breast MRI? All things considered, we realize that mammograms and ultrasounds do fail to pick up some breast cancers. MRI is the latest, most expensive modality in breast imaging. It * s the very best, could it be maybe not? Well, clearly, the advantage of MRI is that it can see everything and anything. The drawback to MRI is also that it can see everything and anything. When an * abnormality * is detected on MRI, sure it might grow to be breast cancer. But it can also grow to be among the numerous completely benign conditions, such as fibroadenoma, cyst, fibrocystic, infection, breast actives from menses or lactation, bruising from trauma, scar from previous surgery or needle biopsy, previous radiation, etc. The only real sure way of telling cancer from benign is to subject the patient to an invasive biopsy to obtain tissue from the MRI breast abnormality. So, if you want to get yourself a breast MRI, you ought to be mentally prepared for the biopsy which will be recommended by your doctor if the MRI shows an * abnormality *. Because the MRI is indeed good at seeing everything and anything, there exists a good chance that an * abnormality * will be revealed. Afterwards, we call these benign biopsies unnecessary because the * abnormality * is really a false positive finding. But prior to the biopsy result comes home as benign, it really was very necessary, because no patient and definitely no doctor wants to let an * abnormality * go unchecked.
The solution to who needs an MRI is not always simple. The current guidelines advise breast MRI for the following women:
1) Lifetime breast cancer risk 25% or higher
2) BRCA (breast cancer gene) carrier
3) First-degree relative of a BRCA carrier, if the first-degree is not tested for the gene
4) Previous radiation to chest between age 10 and 30 (for non-breast cancer reasons)
{5}) New diagnosis of breast cancer
{6}) Silicone breast implants
There are certain women who may need a breast MRI, although these women may not meet the above criteria. Your choice for a breast MRI should be made jointly with a physician, on an individual patient basis, so the * pros * and the * cons * may be discussed in advance. It ought to be emphasized that MRI is definitely an adjunct to mammography, not really a replacement. Normal-risk women age 40 or maybe more should have yearly mammogram and physical examination. High-risk women needs to have an individualized plan, based on the individual * s specific breast cancer risk(s) along with other non-breast medical condition(s).
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