Breast MRI uses Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to look specifically at the breast. It is a noninvasive procedure that doctors can use to determine what the inside of the breast looks like without having to do surgery or flatten the breast (as in a mammogram). Each exam produces hundreds of images of the breast, cross-sectional in all three directions (side-to-side, top-to-bottom, front-to-back), which are then read by a Radiologist. No radioactivity is involved, and the technique is believed to have no health hazards in general. The hope is that such non-invasive studies will contribute to our progress in learning how to predict the behavior of tumors, and in selecting proper treatments. Breast MRI is an evolving technology and should not replace standard screening and diagnostic procedures (clinical and self exams, mammogram, fine needle aspiration or biopsy).

The recent interest in MRI of the breast follows reports that malignant (or cancerous) lesions get brighter following a contrast agent injection. MRI has been shown to detect small breast lesions that are sometimes missed by mammography, and MRI can successfully image the dense breast (usually found in younger women) and breast implants. However, contrast MRI sometimes has a hard time distinguishing between carcinoma and benign breast disease. Some benign breast tissues (such as fibroadenomas) can also get bright after contrast injection, which can cause a false positive result. Research is currently going on at multiple institutions to improve breast MRI.

What is the difference between Breast MRI and Mammography?

From the Johns Hopkins Breast MRI Site: "Normal mammograms use x-rays to generate images of the breast tissue to search for cancer. MRI, on the other hand, uses no x-rays. The ability to identify a mass in the breast requires that the mass has a different appearance (or a different contrast) from normal tissue. With MRI, the contrast between soft tissues in the breast is 10 to 100 times greater than that obtained with x-rays. This is why MRI is used much more than, for example, CT (or CAT) scanning, which uses x-rays, for diagnosing tumors in the brain. As opposed to x-rays, which are known to cause damage to DNA of cells, the magnetic fields and radiowaves used with MRI are not known to have any long term biologic effect. MRI of the breast does require intravenous injection of a 'contrast agent,' which helps highlight breast abnormalities."

Is there a disadvantage to breast MRI?

One disadvantage of breast MRI is the cost, which is about 15 times that of a mammogram. However, most breast MRI exams are done under a research protocol in which there is little or no charge to the patient.

Another disadvantage of breast MRI is it doesn't detect certain types of very small calcifications, which on a mammogram can be an early indication of cancer. Instead, breast MRI uses different cancer markers, including the blood flow of the tumor, as well as the size and appearance of the tumor. Great Basin Imaging is proud to announce Northern Nevada's only Interventional Breast MRI program. Breast biopsies guided in real-time by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is the latest development and an important advance in diagnosing breast cancer. Radiologists at Great Basin Imaging in Carson City are the first in Northern Nevada to perform this type of biopsy.