Molecular Breast Imaging in Breast Cancer Screening and Problem Solving

Abstract

In the United States, legislative actions in over 28 states require radiologists to notify women who undergo breast screening mammography of their breast density. This has led to increased public interest in supplemental screening, but radiologists have not come to a consensus on a supplemental screening modality. In choosing between the most common options, whole-breast ultrasonography (US) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, one must weigh the benefits and drawbacks of each modality, as increased cancer detection may be accompanied by increased examination costs and biopsy rates. There has been recent interest in molecular breast imaging (MBI) for supplemental screening because of its high sensitivity, as well as its high specificity. This article describes how MBI fits into clinical practice alongside digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), targeted US, and MR imaging. The authors describe their approach to breast cancer screening, which uses DBT as the primary imaging modality. DBT is complemented by automated density calculations and supplemented with functional imaging techniques, including MR imaging or MBI, for women with dense breasts. An algorithm based on the patient's breast cancer risk is used to determine if either MR imaging or MBI for supplemental screening is appropriate. MBI is also used as a problem-solving tool for the evaluation of clinical indications following complex mammography or US, or for unexplained physical findings. This article describes aspects related to implementing MBI in clinical practice, including the clinical workflow, patient management, radioactive tracer administration, and procedure reimbursement. © RSNA, 2017.