Dense breast screened with
mammography and breast MR
mammography and breast MR
Dense breast MR protocol showing promise at Seattle radiology center
February 08, 2017
by Lauren Dubinsky, Senior Reporter
A new Abbreviated Breast MR protocol that improves cancer detection in women with dense breasts is now available in the Pacific Northwest. The exams will be offered at the imaging cancer, Via Radiology, in north Seattle.
"We know that the earlier the detection of breast cancer, the better the survival rate and the less debilitating and costly the treatment is. Breast MR can pick up very early stage cancers," Dr. Craig Hanson, president and CEO of Via Radiology and medical director of Seattle Breast Center at UW Medicine/Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, told HCB News.
Currently, MR is only recommended for screening women who are at high risk for breast cancer because it's an expensive test to perform. Hanson is hoping that the Abbreviated Breast MR protocol will change that.
“We have distilled the very important part of breast MR for screening purposes only," said Hanson.
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in August 2014 found that the acquisition time for AB-MR is three minutes compared to 17 minutes for conventional breast MR.
In addition, the diagnostic accuracy of AB-MR was equivalent to that of conventional breast MR, and detected an additional 18.2 per 1,000 cancer cases.
A conventional breast MR exam costs up to $5,000 at Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, according to Hanson. On the other hand, an AB-MR exam costs less than $500.
Mammography is the current gold standard for breast cancer screening, but it's been shown to be inferior to breast MR. On average, mammograms detect four to five cancers per 1,000 women screened and breast MR detects 16 to 23 more cancers among the same group.
Breast ultrasound only detects two to three more cancers per 1,000 average-risked women screened and it's associated with a high false positive rate.
A national multicenter trial is currently underway that's comparing AB-MR with digital breast tomosynthesis. If AB-MR is found to be superior, the hope is that insurance companies will begin to cover it.
“MR does such a great job at finding the cancers on the first round of screening that in the average risk population, we may not have to screen them as often as we do with mammography," said Hanson. "We can screen them perhaps up to every three years rather than every year.”
"We know that the earlier the detection of breast cancer, the better the survival rate and the less debilitating and costly the treatment is. Breast MR can pick up very early stage cancers," Dr. Craig Hanson, president and CEO of Via Radiology and medical director of Seattle Breast Center at UW Medicine/Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, told HCB News.
Currently, MR is only recommended for screening women who are at high risk for breast cancer because it's an expensive test to perform. Hanson is hoping that the Abbreviated Breast MR protocol will change that.
“We have distilled the very important part of breast MR for screening purposes only," said Hanson.
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in August 2014 found that the acquisition time for AB-MR is three minutes compared to 17 minutes for conventional breast MR.
In addition, the diagnostic accuracy of AB-MR was equivalent to that of conventional breast MR, and detected an additional 18.2 per 1,000 cancer cases.
A conventional breast MR exam costs up to $5,000 at Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, according to Hanson. On the other hand, an AB-MR exam costs less than $500.
Mammography is the current gold standard for breast cancer screening, but it's been shown to be inferior to breast MR. On average, mammograms detect four to five cancers per 1,000 women screened and breast MR detects 16 to 23 more cancers among the same group.
Breast ultrasound only detects two to three more cancers per 1,000 average-risked women screened and it's associated with a high false positive rate.
A national multicenter trial is currently underway that's comparing AB-MR with digital breast tomosynthesis. If AB-MR is found to be superior, the hope is that insurance companies will begin to cover it.
“MR does such a great job at finding the cancers on the first round of screening that in the average risk population, we may not have to screen them as often as we do with mammography," said Hanson. "We can screen them perhaps up to every three years rather than every year.”