Added Value of Supplemental Screening Breast MRI in Women at Average or Intermediate Breast Cancer Risk Using Abbreviated Protocols

Abstract

Background: The importance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) screening in high-risk women is well-known; however, its utility in women at average or intermediate risk is not well-established. The main purpose of the study was to investigate the added value and cancer detection rate (CDR) of using abbreviated MRI protocols in average or intermediate-risk women. Methods: A total of 431 asymptomatic women with average or intermediate risk of breast cancer who underwent screening abbreviated MRI from May 2019 to May 2022 were recruited. CDR in screening MRI among average or intermediate-risk women and in low or high-breast composition was calculated.  Results: In 173 patients with intermediate risk, 5(1.16%) malignant lesions were detected and in 258 average-risk patients, 10(2.32%) added cancers were found in screening abbreviated MRI compared to mammography. Among the 15 malignant lesions, more cancers in high breast composition were detected (11 vs. 4 cases); however, there was no statistically significant difference between the cancer detection rate and breast composition. In intermediate-risk women with high breast composition, 3 (0.69%) malignant lesions, and in average-risk women with high breast composition, 8 (1.85%) added cancers were found. Conclusion: We provided 3.48% added cancer detection in screening abbreviated MRI compared to mammography. Therefore, screening abbreviated MRI with less image acquisition and interpretation time may be useful as a supplemental screening tool for cancer detection especially in high breast composition.