Kinetic Variables Most Useful for Detecting Malignant MRI-Detected Breast Lesions

Breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows clinicians to assess suspicious lesions using a variety of variables. Researchers have revealed that computer-aided kinetic information can help considerably in distinguishing benign from malignant suspicious breast lesions on MRI.

In the study performed at the University of Washington Medical Center (Seattle, USA), researchers analyzed and compared the computer-aided evaluation variables of 125 suspicious breast lesions. Three different kinetic curves (washout, plateau, and persistent) were compared along with lesion morphology (size and shape).

"We wanted to clarify which of the many variables that reflect kinetics were most predictive of malignancy,” said Constance Lehman, M.D., lead author of the study. "We found overlap in kinetic patterns across benign and malignant lesions, but we did determine that the ‘most suspicious' curve type, washout, was useful in separating benign from malignant lesions,” said Dr. Lehman. "Of lesions with the most suspicious curve type [any washout], 45.7% were malignant compared with 20.0% with plateau and 13.3% with entirely persistent enhancement,” she said.

The study's findings were published in the September 2009 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR). "We continue to study the specific features on MRI most predictive of breast cancer. We know that the morphology of the lesion is extremely important, but our study also supports the use of kinetic features in lesion assessment. The most suspicious curve, washout, does seem to help distinguish benign from malignant lesions,” said Dr. Lehman. "In breast MRI, it is important to know which variables are most important for predicting malignancy because they help us in determining whether or not a lesion needs to be biopsied or not,” she said.

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University of Washington Medical Center