Should we dispense with preoperative breast MRI?

Abstract

The COMICE trial, presented in The Lancet today by Lindsay Turnbull and colleagues, 1 Turnbull L Brown S Harvey I et al. Comparative effectiveness of MRI in breast cancer (COMICE) trial: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2010; 375: 563-571 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (461) Google Scholar has been eagerly awaited by the breast cancer community. COMICE is the first randomised trial to assess whether preoperative breast MRI in early-stage breast cancer can decrease reoperation rates. Historically, MRI reveals extent of disease much better than does conventional imaging, 2 Berg W Gutierrez L NessAiver MS et al. Diagnostic accuracy of mammography, clinical examination, US and MRI imaging in preoperative assessment of breast cancer. Radiology. 2004; 233: 830-849 Google Scholar and therefore the hope was that MRI information could translate into better surgical outcomes. Comparative effectiveness of MRI in breast cancer (COMICE) trial: a randomised controlled trialOur findings are of benefit to the NHS because they show that MRI might be unnecessary in this population of patients to reduce repeat operation rates, and could assist in improved use of NHS services. Full-Text PDF Open Access