Preoperative MRI of Little Benefit in Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer

One of the most contentious issues in breast cancer is the role of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the breast in patients with newly diagnosed disease. Because of the increased sensitivity of MRI compared with other imaging modalities, it was hoped that preoperative MRI would identify additional disease in the breast and lead to better surgical treatment and reductions in recurrence. To date, that promise has not been borne out, and the modality has been associated with an increase in mastectomies and no reduction in reexcision rates. However, we still do not know whether preoperative breast MRI can reduce the risk for local recurrence (LR) and, ultimately, distant recurrence (DR).

To examine this issue, international invest…