Many patients who need detection for early breast cancer ask what’s the difference between getting a breast MRI or a mammogram using a mammography machine. It is very important to know that every device has its own advantages and also disadvantages that result in one person more convenient for general screening (mammography) and the other more convenient for diagnosis and staging (MRI).

Another way of describing the difference is that the false positive rate is high and may be unacceptable for low risk women. MRI can detect cancers that may be missed in a routine mammogram, in fact MRI was able to detect breast cancer in the second (contra lateral) breast of some of these women even when mammogram had been read as normal.

MRI is a special tool that is extremely sensitive in detecting early cancer, but it is too sensitive and also picks up many breast changes that are not cancer, leading to a high incidence of negative biopsies. In other words, the false positive rate is high and may be unacceptable for low risk women.

Mammography

This method is recommended for screening or diagnosis for most of the patients. It is good to know that mammography method is more suitable than MRI when it comes to detecting suspicious calcifications and it still remains the best choice for patients with ferrous metal implants that are unable to go through an MRI. Those patients who have a personal or family history of breast cancer or maybe dense breasts could definitely benefit more from an MRI result, but with the appearance of the 3D Tomography technology hitting the market, image quality and the manifestation of calcification and lesion recognition have recently improved for the mammography method.

Breast MRI

Due to an MRI imaging procedure, unlike mammography, it is good to know that there is no risk at all of some exposure to radiation because MRIs utilize magnetic fields in order to create images. According to many studies, one important advantage of MRI studies is the ability to better detecting small breast lesions which could be missed on a mammography device in some cases. MRIs are more effective in detecting breast cancer in the patients who are facing dense breasts and also patients with breast implants.

The disadvantage of MRI machines is that they have been known to sometimes miss calcifications or lesions, which can later develop into tumors. In addition to this, because of the magnetic field caused by an MRI, patient who has ferrous implants or another type of implants are disqualified from the screening process on this device. Another thing which has to be considered is that MRI procedures need an expensive and also more invasive injection of contrast dye into the arm of the patient which helps in the formation of a clearer image, but unfortunately it is not always covered by the insurance company a patient has chosen.

Breast MRI couldn’t replace Mammography – it complements it

Scientists and their research show that mammography method reduces mortality among patients who suffer from breast cancer up to thirty percent in women with ages between 40 and 74. It is important to consider the fact that breast MRI is still a new medical advance and no research or study has been done to document the overall reduction of mortality from breast MRI.  Another thing to have in mind is that breast MRI is not even standardized. One of the major drawbacks of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been the lack of a standard and quantifiable interpretation of image intensities. Keep in mind that it is a very expensive diagnostic method about five to eight times than a mammogram image. No matter what there are women who would definitely have benefits from a Breast MRI image:

• All women with silicone breast implants
• Women with previous or family history of breast cancer – high-risk women
• Patients where breast cancer recurrence is suspected
• All patients who have a new diagnosis of breast cancer, so the medical worker could detect the extent of the cancer
• All women with hard to assess abnormalities that have been seen on mammography or ultrasound

However, the role of breast MRI method is still constantly evolving and continuous studies are made. This means that this method couldn’t be a substitute for mammography method. When this method is used appropriately in those patients with high-risk and patients with dense breasts, it is a smart step when it comes to making the right decision and diagnosis.

Conclusion

In all of the cases, the medical professional will select to start a patient out with a regular mammogram. If there is something suspicious or the results are inconclusive and the patient has some personal or family history, the medical worker may elect to perform a more expensive breast MRI as well. This way he will be sure about their opinion and diagnose and the patient will be secure about health condition. Balancing which imaging solution is the best for the patient together with the cost management there are more factors which are entering into a medical worker decision. But, however, the main point remains the same. This means that leveraging the separate strengths of the methods, MRI, and mammography to detect the cancer of the breast earlier and save patients life.

There are so many new cases of breast cancer in women and in some of them, the cancer is in more advanced stages. In order to avoid such a situation, all women are advised to do regular mammograms to save their lives. It is an effective way to reduce their risks for breast cancer and to discover cancer in an early stage. Schedule your mammogram and learn more about how to fight this condition.

To help you reach maximum women, create awareness, and improve the availability of mammograms & MRI as per their convenience, at KB Consulting, we can provide you with new and refurbished medical imaging equipment including different types of MRI scanners, Mammography Systems, CT scanners, & more for sale. To get further information on availability, price, specification and condition, please feel free to call us at +1 586 917 0245 or email us at sales@kbdentalconsulting.com