Retrospective analysis for evaluation of the value of contrast-enhanced MRI in patients treated with breast conservative therapy |
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Authors: | P Viehweg A Heinig D Lampe J Buchmann S H Heywang-Köbrunner |
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Affiliation: | Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Martin Luther University, Halle Wittenberg, Germany. |
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Abstract: | Purpose The aim of this study was to assess the value of contrast-enhanced (c.-e.) MRI in the follow-up of patients with conservatively
treated breast cancer since detection and exclusion of malignancy may interfere significantly with posttherapeutic changes
within the treated breast.
Material and methods A total of 207 patients with a history of limited surgery and radiation therapy underwent MR imaging, 40 patients were examined
0–12 months and 167 patients were examined later than 12 months after radiotherapy. Suspicious or indeterminate findings were
suggested by clinical examination or conventional imaging in 80 studies. In 127 women, MRI was performed within breast tissue
that was difficult to assess due to scarring or dense breast tissue.
Results Recurrent carcinoma was confirmed in 27 patients by surgical biopsy. All 27 carcinomas, except for one with a slow signal
increase, demonstrated early rise of signal intensity on dynamic T1-weighted contrast enhanced images. During the first year
after therapy, the diagnostic accuracy could not be improved by additional use of c.-e. MRI. Differentiation between posttherapeutic
changes and recurrent carcinoma was frequently not possible because of strong and sometimes early and ill-circumscribed enhancement.
Later than 12 months after therapy enhancement decreased significantly, thus the false positive calls could be reduced from
49 (conventional imaging) to 12 (conventional imaging plus MRI). A total of 12 of 26 recurrences and multifocality in 4/5
cases were diagnosed by MR imaging alone at this time interval.
Conclusion In the first year after therapy, c.-e. MRI is only indicated in selected cases. The results later than 12 months emphasize
that c.-e. MRI may contribute significant additional information. It allows better distinction of posttherapeutic fibrosis
from recurrent carcinoma and proved to be able to detect recurrent disease more sensitive and at an earlier stage. |
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Keywords: | Breast Breast neoplasms Recurrent carcinoma Radiation therapy Magnetic resonance (MR) |
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