High-resolution diffusion-weighted MRI plus mammography for detecting clinically occult breast cancers in women with dense breasts

Purpose To compare the performance of mammography, high-resolution DW-MRI, DCE-MRI, and their combinations in detecting clinically occult breast cancer in women with dense breasts. Method 544 breasts from 281 consecutive asymptomatic women with dense breasts were retrospectively identified. They underwent breast MRI for preoperative evaluation of breast cancers (n = 214) or as supplemental screening (n = 67) including DCE-MRI and DW-MRI (b values, 0 and 1000 sec/mm2; in-plane resolution, 1.1 × 1.1 mm2 and 1.3 × 1.3 mm2; section thickness, 3 mm), in addition to mammography. Three readers independently reviewed each examination on a per-breast basis. Histopathology and at least two year of imaging follow-up served as the gold standard. The sensitivities and specificities of different imaging modalities were compared using McNemar test. Results 230 of 544 breasts (42 %) had malignant lesions. The sensitivity of DW-MRI was higher than that of mammography (77.0 % vs 57.9 %; adjusted p < 0.001), but lower than that of DCE-MRI (84.8 %; adjusted p = 0.014). The specificity of DW-MRI was comparable to those of mammography (98.1 % vs 99.1 %; adjusted p > 0.999) and DCE-MRI (97.1 %; adjusted p > 0.999). DW-MRI plus mammography had a comparable sensitivity and specificity to those of DCE-MRI plus mammography (88.6 % vs 90.9 % and 97.1 % vs 96.2 %; adjusted p > 0.999 for both). Conclusions High-resolution DW-MRI had a sensitivity higher than mammography and lower than DCE-MRI. Nevertheless, DW-MRI plus mammography showed a comparable sensitivity and specificity to DCE-MRI plus mammography for detecting clinically occult cancers in women with dense breasts.