WIBCC- West Islip Breast Cancer Coalition


		Study Finds MRIs May Detect Breast Cancer The following information was presented on ABC News in May 2003. study presented in May 2003 to a meeting of radiologists in San Diego reviewed medical records of 367 women at high risk for breast cancer, including women with a family history of the disease, those who had been previously treated for breast cancer, or those who have unusually dense breast tissue. The study conducted by researchers at Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center in New York, found that MRI detected cancers not seen on mammograms in one out of every 24 women. For those women who had both a personal and family history of breast cancer, the rate jumped to one in 12. Dr. Elizabeth Morris, the lead author of the paper, stated that MRI can pick up small cancers and invasive cancers at a higher sensitivity than mammography. She said that while mammograms use X-rays, MRI uses radio waves and magnetic fields, which make the contrast between breast tissue 10 to 100 times greater. Magnetic resonance imaging assesses blood flow in the breast, said Morris. If there is cancer in the breast, there is increased blood flow and the formation of abnormal vessels. Many researchers are recommending that women at high risk for breast cancer not forego their annual mammograms, but consider adding MRI screening which many insurance companies now cover.