10.07.2007

MRI Is More Sensitive At Detecting Early Signs Of Breast Cancer Than Mammography

If used with appropriate diagnostic criteria, MRI is much more sensitive than mammography for detecting breast cancers before they have developed to an invasive stage, and particularly good at identifying those lesions which are more likely to progress to dangerous forms of cancer, according to a study published in The Lancet. This finding is in stark contrast to previous studies comparing the two techniques that concluded MRI can not detect early cancers as effectively as mammography.

Debates over which screening modality is best for detecting ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)---an early type of breast cancer in which cancerous cells are present but are confined to the milk ducts within the breasts---have in the past focused on identification of microcalcifications, small areas where cells have died and subsequently turned into calcium deposits, which are used as a hallmark of cancerous growth. Mammography can visualise these features in a breast scan whereas MRI cannot.

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