Abbreviated Breast MRI as a Supplement to Mammography in Family Risk History of Breast Cancer within the Croatian National Breast Screening Program

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of abbreviated breast MRI compared with mammography in women with a family history of breast cancer included in the Croatian National Breast Screening Program. Methods: 178 women with a family history of breast cancer aged 50 to 69 underwent abbreviated breast MRI and mammography. Radiological findings for each method were categorized according to the BI-RADS classification. The gold standard for assessing the diagnostic accuracy of breast MRI and mammography, in terms of suspicious BI-RADS 4 and BI-RADS 5 findings, was the histopathological diagnosis. Performance measures, including cancer detection rates, specificity, sensitivity, and positive and negative predictive values, were calculated for both imaging methods. Results: Twelve new cases of breast cancer were detected, with seven (58.3%) identified only by abbreviated breast MRI, four (33.3%) detected by both mammography and breast MRI, and one (8.3%) diagnosed only by mammography. Diagnostic accuracy parameters for abbreviated breast MRI were 91.67% sensitivity, 94.58% specificity, 55.0% positive predictive value (PPV), and 99.37% negative predictive value (NPV), while for mammography, the corresponding values were 41.67%, 96.39%, 45.46%, and 95.81%, respectively. Conclusions: Abbreviated breast MRI is a useful supplement to screening mammography in women with a family history of breast cancer. Considering the results of the conducted research, it is recommended to assess whether women with a family history of breast cancer have an increased risk and subsequently provide annual abbreviated breast MRI in addition to mammography for early detection of breast cancer.

Keywords

• abbreviated breast MRI
• mammography
• breast cancer
• breast cancer screening program