Accuracy of Abbreviated Breast MRI in Diagnosing Breast Cancer in Women with Dense Breasts Compared with Standard Imaging Modalities

BACKGROUND: Breast density is an independent risk factor for breast cancer and affects the sensitivity of mammography screening. Therefore, new breast imaging approaches could benefit women with increased breast density in early cancer detection and diagnosis.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the diagnostic performance of abbreviated breast MRI compared with mammography and other imaging modalities in screening and diagnosing breast cancer among Saudi women with dense breast tissue.

METHODS: A retrospective diagnostic study was conducted using anonymized medical images and histopathology information from 55 women, aged ≥30 years, who had dense breasts (Breast Imaging and Reporting Data System [BI-RADS] breast density categories C and D) and an abnormal mammogram. The sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were calculated for mammography, digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), synthetic mammography (SM) derived from DBT, ultrasound, and abbreviated breast MRI (ABMRI).

RESULTS: A total of 19 women had pathology-proven breast cancer. Among all methods, ABMRI showed the highest sensitivity (94.7%) and specificity (58.3%), while mammography showed the lowest (84.2% and 44.4%, respectively). AUC for ABMRI was higher than all the methods including mammography (0.751 vs. 0.643; P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: ABMRI appears to be more accurate in cancer diagnosis than mammography and other modalities for women with dense breast tissue. Further research is advised on a larger sample of Saudi women to confirm the benefit of ABMRI in breast cancer screening and diagnosis for women with increased breast density.