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Breast MRIs urged for high risk women
Posted on Mar 28th 2007 11:00AM by Bethany SandersThe American Cancer Society is announcing new guidelines in breast cancer detection, and it may mean that more women will be getting MRIs in addition to their mammograms.
Women who have a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes (which can indicated an increase risk for breast cancer), women who have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, women who've undergone treatment for Hodgkin's disease, and women with a strong family history of the disease may be adding an annual MRI to their breast cancer prevention efforts. The reason behind the change the finding that MRIs can spot early changes in the breast -- such as abnormal blood flow -- that indicate breast cancer. MRIs can also better detect the disease in dense breast tissue.
Experts urge women to continue to get their yearly mammograms, which are better at detecting calcium deposits than MRIs. Mammograms are also significantly cheaper than MRIs, and MRIs have a higher false positive rate. Mammography is still the appropriate test for most women, but women in certain groups may benefit from having an MRI in addition to their mammogram.
For more information on whether you need to add an MRI to your yearly check-up, read this Q & A on the subject.
Women who have a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes (which can indicated an increase risk for breast cancer), women who have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, women who've undergone treatment for Hodgkin's disease, and women with a strong family history of the disease may be adding an annual MRI to their breast cancer prevention efforts. The reason behind the change the finding that MRIs can spot early changes in the breast -- such as abnormal blood flow -- that indicate breast cancer. MRIs can also better detect the disease in dense breast tissue.
Experts urge women to continue to get their yearly mammograms, which are better at detecting calcium deposits than MRIs. Mammograms are also significantly cheaper than MRIs, and MRIs have a higher false positive rate. Mammography is still the appropriate test for most women, but women in certain groups may benefit from having an MRI in addition to their mammogram.
For more information on whether you need to add an MRI to your yearly check-up, read this Q & A on the subject.
