MRI of the Breast
Bilateral MRI of the breast is now available for the first time in Alaska. MRI of the breast is not a replacement for mammography or ultrasound imaging but rather is a supplemental tool for detecting and staging breast cancer and other breast abnormalities.
MRI is used to:
- evaluate abnormalities detected by mammography.
- identify early breast cancer not detected through other means, especially in women at high risk for breast cancer who have been evaluated by a genetic counselor
- determine the integrity of breast implants.
- assess multiple tumor locations.
- look for multiple tumors prior to breast conservation surgery.
- determine how much cancer has spread beyond the surgical site after a breast biopsy or lumpectomy.
- provide additional information on a diseased breast to make treatment decisions.
By comparing breast images taken before and after contrast material injection, an MRI exam can determine:
- if there are breast abnormalities.
- whether an abnormality looks benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).
- the size and location of any abnormality that looks malignant.
- the presence of enlarged lymph nodes.
MRI of the breast is not appropriate for all women. If you have questions, please contact the PIC nurse at 261-3607.
Our Request for Special Breast Procedures order form is now available as a PDF (213 KB) for download and printing here.
WHAT IS HIGH RISK?
Women who are high risk are
identified generally as women
who have a known genetic
mutation (BRCA1 or BRCA2)
or a minimum 25% lifetime
risk for breast cancer. An
online risk calculator based
on the Gail Model (for
women age 35 years or
older) is available from the
National Cancer Institute at
http://www.cancer.gov/bcrisktool/
