Screening MRI benefits women at average risk of breast cancer

MRI screening improves early diagnosis of breast cancer in all women-not only those at high risk-according to a new study from Germany published online in the journal Radiology.

MRI has long been known as an effective breast cancer screening modality that offers better sensitivity than mammography and ultrasound. Currently, guidelines reserve breast MRI screening for women who have a strong family history or other specific breast cancer risk factors. MRI screening has not been considered necessary for women at average risk, and there has been resistance to expansion of MRI into this population due, in part, to concern over higher costs.

However, with breast cancer remaining a major cause of cancer death in women, there is good reason to pursue the search for improved screening methods, according to the study's lead author, Christiane Kuhl, M.D., chair of the Department of Radiology at RWTH Aachen University in Aachen, Germany.

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