Pre-operative MRI for women with newly diagnosed breast cancer: perspectives on clinician and patient decision-making when evidence is uncertain

Abstract

The routine use of pre-operative MRI in women with newly diagnosed breast cancer highlights the complexities of the use of new technology when evidence of benefit is uncertain. There are both potential harms and benefits. In the short term patients may desire and feel reassured by further testing and the use of new diagnostic techniques. However, they may also experience greater anxiety and distress from further tests and related follow-up procedures such as biopsy. In the long term MRI may result in more radical treatment decisions which are associated with poorer quality of life for women. Both patients and clinicians often (wrongly) assume that more information via testing leads to better outcomes (information bias). So how should pre-operative MRI be integrated into breast cancer care? First women need to be made aware of the uncertain evidence surrounding MRI. However whether it is appropriate to burden women with complex information and yet another decision at a time of high vulnerability and emotional distress should be considered. One potential solution is to use a Community Informed Consent approach in which a representative sample of patients and healthy women are educated about the benefits and harms and give their informed opinion about whether pre-operative MRI should be offered. Another approach is to provide patients with an evidence based decision aid to support individual informed choice. Either or a combination of both approaches would be acceptable and should be investigated. At present women are poorly informed about pre operative MRI and it is likely that they assume outcomes are be improved as a result. Clear communication about the limits of MRI to patients is needed alongside randomised trials to provide the evidence that benefit indeed outweighs the harms so that all parties involved may be comprehensively informed.