News | MRI Breast | November 25, 2015

Study reinforces clinical significance of multicentric cancers found with MRI

breast MRI, additional multicentric cancers, mammography, Chiara Iacconi, Radiology journal

November 25, 2015 — Additional breast cancers found with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are sometimes larger and potentially more aggressive than those found on mammography, according to a study published online in the journal Radiology. Researchers said that in some cases MRI findings of additional cancers not seen on mammography may necessitate a change in treatment.

Breast MRI is the most sensitive technique for the detection of breast cancer, with widespread application in the screening of high-risk patients and pre-surgical planning. In younger women and women with dense breasts, MRI is effective in the detection of what are known as multicentric cancers, meaning breast cancers involving two or more distinct primary tumors, usually in different quadrants of the breast. However, there has been some debate about the clinical significance of multicentric cancers found with MRI.

“Patients with clinically insignificant cancers undergoing potential overtreatment versus patients who may be undertreated is at the heart of the controversy surrounding breast MRI,” said the study’s lead author Chiara Iacconi, M.D., from the Breast Unit at USL1 Massa-Carrara in Carrara, Italy.

To learn more, Iacconi and colleagues reviewed records from 2,021 patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer who underwent biopsy after preoperative MRI. Of the 2,021 patients, 285, or 14 percent, had additional cancer detected on MRI that was hidden from view on mammography.

In 73 of those 285 patients, or 25.6 percent, MRI identified at least one additional cancer in a different quadrant of the breast than the index cancer, or the cancer detected by mammography and/or breast palpation.

These multicentric cancers were larger than the known index cancer in 17 of the 73 patients, or 23.3 percent. In addition, the MRI-detected multicentric cancers were greater than 1 centimeter in size in 25 percent of the 73 patients.

“We believe invasive cancer larger than 1 centimeter is clinically relevant disease,” Iacconi said. “In general, it is accepted that radiation can likely treat invasive cancer less than 1 centimeter, but lesions larger than 1 centimeter, especially invasive carcinomas, may not be reliably treated with conservation.”

The additional MRI-detected multicentric cancers were found mostly in patients with heterogeneously dense or extremely dense breasts. However, MRI also detected additional disease in 19 percent of patients with fatty or scattered fibroglandular tissue.

“The results show that multicentric cancer detected on breast MRI after mammography appears to represent a larger tumor burden in approximately a quarter of patients and can result in potential changes to cancer grade and treatment,” Iacconi said.

For more information: www.pubs.rsna.org/journal/radiology


Related Content

News | Breast Imaging

July 8, 2025 — QT Imaging Holdings, has appointed Elaine Iuanow, MD, as chief medical officer (CMO) and Kim Du as senior ...

Time July 09, 2025
arrow
News | Breast Imaging

July 7, 2025 — SimonMed Imaging, one of the largest outpatient medical imaging providers in the United States, has ...

Time July 08, 2025
arrow
News | Breast Imaging

June 25, 2025 — QT Imaging Holdings, Inc., a medical device company engaged in research, development, and ...

Time June 25, 2025
arrow
News | Women's Health

June 23, 2025 — Susan G. Komen, the world’s leading breast cancer organization, recently announced it is awarding $10.8 ...

Time June 23, 2025
arrow
Feature | Women's Health | Christine Murray

In breast cancer detection, speed and accuracy are more than clinical goals – they can significantly increase chances ...

Time June 17, 2025
arrow
News | PET Imaging

May 30, 2025 — GE HealthCare recently announced that the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) ...

Time May 30, 2025
arrow
News | Imaging Software Development

May 27, 2025 — DeepLook Medical, a company advancing medical imaging through visual enhancement technology, recently ...

Time May 28, 2025
arrow
News | Breast Imaging

May 13, 2025 — In one of the larger studies of its kind, researchers have identified six breast texture patterns that ...

Time May 16, 2025
arrow
News | Mammography

April 29, 2025 — iCAD, a global provider of clinically proven AI-powered cancer detection solutions, has announced a ...

Time April 29, 2025
arrow
News | Mammography

April 24, 2025 — GE HealthCare will feature its latest advancements in diagnostic accuracy and patient-centered breast ...

Time April 24, 2025
arrow
Subscribe Now