MRM relies on the presence of well-established morphological features that help distinguish malignant from benign lesions. In addition, angiogenesis induced by cancer is demonstrated by dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. Compared with conventional mammography and breast ultrasonography for clinically overt and occult breast disease, MRM offers higher sensitivity for the detection of multifocal cancer, which is important in selecting patients appropriate for breast-conserving surgery. These include preoperative staging before a planned breast-conserving surgery in patients with dense parenchyma to exclude multicentricity, additional evaluation of dense breast tissue...

One hundred equivocal mammographic abnormalities from 93 consecutive patients included in the study.Patients had been selected and referred because of the presence of breast lesions detected by palpation and/or mammography and/or sonography. The highest detection rate for multifocal invasive disease was seen with MRM, which identified 72.5% out confirmed multifocal invasive cancers, whereas mammography identified 20.5% (p=0.003). Breast density was estimated visually with quantitative measures, that is, the percentage of the area of the breast encompassed by fibroglandular tissue dense enough to obscure a cancer...

The most successful protocol in MRM that permits differentiation of malignant from benign lesions combines two techniques: surface coils for adequate spatial resolution, and dynamic contrast enhancement studies.MRM was performed in women with suspicious or equivocal results in conventional mammography and ultrasonography because of either dense parenchyma or heterogeneous echogenicity with dorsal shadowing with a purpose to exclude multifocal disease or contralateral breast cancer.All lesions were analyzed regarding their qualitative characteristics. The sensitivity of MRM was significantly higher compared to mammography and sonography (p< 0.005...

If MRM detects multicentric breast cancer, which is a major correlate of local disease recurrence, then both the patient and her physician could reach a more correct treatment choice which would be mastectomy, thereby avoiding the morbidity associated with radiation therapy. If the patient chooses to accept the increased risk associated with the presence of multicentric disease, she can then be more closely monitored through MRM during follow-up after radiation therapy. The multiplanar capability of MRM enables it to provide more definite information than mammography...

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