Mammogram + MRI best for high-risk women

BOSTON, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers suggest combining mammography and magnetic resonance imaging to screen women at high risk for breast cancer.

The researchers, led by Dr. Janie Lee of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, found combining mammography with MRI was more likely to improve life expectancy in those at high risk. Combined screening became more cost-effective as breast cancer risk increased, the study says.

The findings, published in Radiology, support current American Cancer Society recommendations.

The researchers used statistical modeling for a hypothetical group of 25-year-old women genetically at high risk for breast cancer. They found annual combined mammography and MRI gained 49.62 quality of life years -- a measure of both quantity and quality of life -- at a cost of $110,973.

MRI screening alone provided 49.50 of these years for $108,641, while mammography alone provided 44.46 years costing $100,336.