Possibilities of MRI in the differential diagnosis of non-lactative mastitis and cancer

Abstract

Non-lactational mastitis is an inflammatory process in the breast tissue that is not associated with lactation. The detection of a malignant transformation during inflammation process is often difficult, because it has similar clinical manifestations. Medical approach depends on the characteristics of the processes which are received from the data obtained from radiation diagnostic methods: whether or not there is a nodular formation or infiltrate, cystic cavities, dilatation of the ducts, how the axillary lymph nodes are changed. Diagnostic errors in inflammatory breast diseases are quite common; according to the literature, errors in the interpretation of clinical, mammographic, and ultrasound signs of cancer during inflammation account for up to 53.1% of cases. Inflammation, as well as cancer, in majority of cases is accompanied by a visually detectable increase in blood flow due to proliferation and neoangiogenesis. Magnetic resonance imaging with dynamic contrast enhancement (MRI) is highly sensitive in detecting areas with increased vascularization and makes it possible to assess their nature with a high degree of probability during any changes in the structure of the breast tissue, including edema and inflammatory infiltration. MR signs that allow to make differential diagnosis are a combination of pathological accumulation and lymphadenopathy, which are coded by the BIRADS system as category 4 and only the absence of contrast agent accumulation may suggest an inflammatory nature of the changes. According to the literature, MRI-DCE is a highly sensitive diagnostic method of identifying cancer during inflammation processes. The results of 85 MR studies with clinical manifestations of non-lactational mastitis were analyzed.The purpose of study: is to evaluate the possibilities of magnetic resonance mammography in making a differential diagnosis of non-lactational mastitis and breast cancer.