St. John's enlists breast MRI technology to fight, treat cancer

Doctors at St. John's Breast Center are using an old tool in a new way to help patients fight breast cancer.

According to a St. John's news release, magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is being used with individuals who recently have been diagnosed with breast cancer to determine the extent of the disease and to test women who are at high risk for the disease.

In recently diagnosed breast cancer patients, for example, if a lesion is discovered in one breast, an MRI might locate additional lesions, even if those weren't previously detected by a mammogram. That information can be used to determine ifå a lumpectomy or a mastectomy is needed.

St. John's defines women at high risk for breast cancer as those who have a known family history of breast cancer I or II, or who have multiple family members who have had breast or ovarian cancer. These high-risk women, according to Dr. Kathleen Gafarian, medical director of St. John's Breast Center, should have annual breast MRIs in conjunction with mammograms, as studies have shown that breast cancer can be detected earlier with MRI technology than by screening with mammography alone.

There are other reasons for using breast MRI technology, but those are usually driven by specific questions a radiologist, oncologist or surgeon may have when treating individual patients and are very individualized. And often, after an MRI, women may still need further testing, such as biopsies or an ultrasound, to determine the extent of the disease.

"Unfortunately ... there are a lot of misconceptions the public has about just who should or shouldn't have a breast MRI. The bottom line, there is no one test that can answer the question, 'Do I have breast cancer?' 100 percent of the time. Yet, breast MRI, when used properly, can be a very powerful tool," Gafarian said in the release.

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