Breast cancer MRI
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American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Breast cancer MRI |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]{AE}} Mirdula Sharma, MBBS [2]
Overview
Findings on MRI
MRI uses powerful magnetic forces and radio-frequency waves to make cross-sectional images of organs, tissues, bones and blood vessels. A computer turns the images into 3-dimensional pictures. An MRI of the breast is not routinely used to diagnose breast cancer, but may be done in certain situations to:[1]
- find the primary tumour in the breast
- MRI may be used if cancer is found in the axillary lymph nodes or if a woman has Paget disease of the nipple.
- find out the extent of cancer in the breast tissue (local disease)
- MRI may be used when test results from physical examination, mammography or ultrasound are not clear.
- better examine an abnormality found on mammography
- MRI may be used if the abnormality cannot be found with other tests, such as a clinical breast exam or breast ultrasound.
- It may also be used if the abnormality can be seen from only one view of the results of a mammography.
- check the condition of breast implants, especially if the doctor suspects that an implant has ruptured
References
- ↑ Breast cancer. Canadian Cancer Society (2015) http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/breast/signs-and-symptoms/?region=on#ixzz3xScycfqv Accessed on January 16, 2016