Screening in patients with increased risk of breast cancer (part 1): pros and cons of MRI screening

Abstract

Screening plays an important role in women with a high risk of breast cancer. Given this population's high incidence of breast cancer and younger age of onset compared to the general population, it is recommended that screening starts earlier. There is ample evidence that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most sensitive diagnostic tool, and American and the European guidelines both recommend annual MRI screening (with supplementary annual mammography) as the optimum screening modality. Nevertheless, the current guidelines do not totally agree about the recommendations for MRI screening in some subgroups of patients. The first part of this article on screening in women with increased risk of breast cancer reviews the literature to explain and evaluate the advantages of MRI screening compared to screening with mammography alone: increased detection of smaller cancers with less associated lymph node involvement and a reduction in the rate of interval cancers, which can have an impact on survival and mortality (with comparable effects to other preventative measures). At the same time, however, we would like to reflect on the drawbacks of MRI screening that affect its applicability.

Keywords: Breast tumors; Cancer screening; Detección precoz de cáncer; Factores de riesgo; Genetic predisposition to disease; Magnetic resonance imaging; Mammography; Mamografía; Neoplasias mamarias; Predisposición genética a la enfermedad; Resonancia magnética; Risk factors; Sensibilidad y especificidad; Sensitivity and specificity.