MRIs for those who have had breast cancer

CHICAGO, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Women with a personal history of breast cancer should consider annual screening using magnetic resonance imaging -- plus mammography, a U.S. researcher says.

Dr. Wendy DeMartini of the University of Washington Medical Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance in Seattle says screening using MRI detected proportionally more cancers in women with a personal history of breast cancer than in women with a genetic mutation or strong family history -- the ones currently recommended to have breast MRI.

"Further, women with a personal history were less likely to be recalled for additional testing and less likely to have a biopsy for a false positive magnetic resonance imaging finding," DeMartini said in a statement.

DeMartini and colleagues performed a retrospective review of initial screening breast MRI examinations of 1,026 women from January 2004 to June 2009 -- of whom 327 had a genetic or family history of breast cancer and 646 had a personal history of treated breast cancer.

The cancer yield in the women with a personal history of breast cancer -- 3.1 percent -- was double that of the women with a genetic or family history -- 1.5 percent.

The study findings were presented in Chicago at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.