Abbreviated Breast MRI Has High Diagnostic Accuracy for Dense Breasts
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- For women with extremely dense breasts who are negative for cancer at mammography, abbreviated breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for first-round screening has high diagnostic accuracy, comparable to the full multiparametric protocol, according to a study published online May 20 in Radiology.
Sophie E.L. van Grinsven, Ph.D., from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and colleagues compared multireader diagnostic accuracy of various abbreviated screening breast MRI protocols to that of the full multiparametric protocol in a secondary analysis of the Dense Tissue and Early Breast Neoplasm Screening trial. Seven radiologists performed incremental readings of first-round screening MRI scans in women with extremely dense breasts and negative findings for cancer at mammography. Different sequences were added in four incremental steps.
The first-round screening included 518 MRI scans, with 83 breast cancers: 68 invasive cancers and 15 ductal carcinomas in situ. The researchers found no evidence for a difference in sensitivity between the abbreviated protocol and full multiparametric MRI protocol (84.3 and 85.9 percent, respectively). No evidence was seen for a difference in specificity between the abbreviated protocol and full protocol (73.9 versus 75.8 percent). The pooled reading time was almost 50 percent shorter for the abbreviated versus the full protocol (49.7 versus 96.4 seconds), with 70 to 80 percent shorter scanning time, depending on the scanner vendor and hospital.
"Shorter reading and scan times may allow implementation of MRI in national screening programs, making it available for all women with extremely dense breasts," coauthor Wouter B. Veldhuis, M.D., Ph.D., also from Utrecht University, said in a statement.
Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical and publishing industries.
Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted May 2025
Read this next
Racialized Economic Segregation Linked to Advanced Cancer Diagnosis
FRIDAY, Aug. 1, 2025 -- People living in racially and economically segregated neighborhoods are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced-stage breast and cervical cancer...
Changes in Missouri Law Linked to Increased Breast Cancer Screening Rates
THURSDAY, July 31, 2025 -- Changes in Missouri law expanding breast cancer screening coverage have led to increased screening rates among Medicaid patients and an increased...
AI Correctly Localized Almost One-Third of Interval Cancers on Screening Digital Breast Tomosynthesis
THURSDAY, July 31 Aug. 1, 2025 -- Artificial intelligence (AI) correctly localized nearly one-third of interval cancers on retrospective evaluation of screening digital breast...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.