Breast MRI screening is recommended on an annual basis for women who are considered high-risk. Generally speaking, high-risk women include those who have had genetic testing or found to have a mutation that puts them at high risk of developing breast cancer, and women with a strong family history of having a mutation or breast cancer. Women who have had breast cancer without a genetic or hereditary predisposition are considered at moderate risk of recurrence and are not necessarily candidates for breast MRI.

Breast MRI is requested by your physician most often in cases where there is an abnormal mammogram or a history of breast cancer in a “first-degree” relative (parent, sibling, or child), or a genetic predisposition to breast cancer. It also can be helpful in screening women who have dense breast tissue, implants, or scar tissue that makes reading a mammogram difficult, or to determine if an implant has ruptured. Breast MRI is also meaningful to distinguish between recurrent tumors from radiation or surgical scar tissue. Breast MRI is most important for women diagnosed with breast cancer to determine the extent of the tumor and to assess the possibility of multiple tumors in the same or opposite breast. 

Breast MRI is not useful as a primary screening tool for the general population. Screening is most valuable for high-risk patients and patients with dense breast tissue. 

Breast MRI is extremely helpful at identifying invasive cancer. However, because breast MRI is highly sensitive, it can result in a higher rate of “false positive” exams. This may sometimes lead to follow-up imaging procedures, such as biopsies, for abnormalities that prove not to be cancerous. 

A breast MRI is best performed on a high-field MRI system with breast coils specifically designed for breast imaging. It is very helpful for the reading radiologist to have a dedicated breast imaging work station to assist in his or her interpretation, which Shields offers at all locations that provide breast MRI services.