Elevated-Risk Women Refuse MRI Breast Cancer Screening

ScienceDaily (Dec. 22, 2009) — In a new study published in the January issue of Radiology, 42 percent of women eligible for breast cancer screening with MRI declined to undergo the procedure.

"Given that MRI is promoted as a very sensitive test to identify early breast cancer, we were surprised that barely half of women at increased risk for breast cancer would undergo MRI even when offered at no cost," said Wendie A. Berg, M.D., Ph.D., breast imaging specialist at American Radiology Services, Johns Hopkins -- Green Spring Station in Lutherville, Md. "This suggests the need for alternative methods, such as ultrasound, to help screen women at increased risk for breast cancer."

Some groups of women who are at high risk for breast cancer need to begin screening at a younger age, because they often develop cancer earlier than women at average risk. However, women below age 50 are more likely to have dense breast tissue, which can limit the effectiveness of mammography as a screening tool.

source: Science Daiy release