From the September 2015 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine

The estimated cost of TRUSGB per 100 men was $90,400 and the cost of mpMRI was $87,700, according to the research. But since mpMRI missed a small amount of cancers compared to TRUSGB, more research is needed to determine the clinical significance of those missed cancers.

Breast MR
Breast cancer screening is in the midst of controversy. The industry is becoming more aware of the fact that even though mammography is the gold standard, it misses aggressive cancers and picks up indolent cancers that don’t require treatment.


“We currently miss a fair number of cancers on mammography in dense breasts,” says Dr. Elizabeth Morris, president of the Society of Breast Imaging. “However, we have better diagnostic tools that increase cancer detection such as tomosynthesis. Although tomosynthesis is an improvement it is not going to solve all of our problems.”

In addition, breast density legislation is now in full swing in many states and patients and their physicians want supplemental screening options. The Dense Tissue and Early Breast Neoplasm Screening (DENSE) trial underway in the Netherlands is investigating the use of breast MR as a supplemental screening tool.

The researchers brought together a group of women between the ages of 50 and 75 to measure their breast density using a fully-automated volumetric method. Out of the women with extremely dense breasts and a negative result on mammography, 7,237 will undergo additional MR imaging and 28,948 will be screened with mammography alone.

The first participants were randomized in December 2011 and enrollment is expected to be finished later this year. The initial study results are anticipated to be presented in 2016. “While there have been technological advances in mammography (e.g., 3D tomosynthesis) and ultrasound, breast MRI continues to provide superior 3D spatial resolution and soft-tissue contrast without the use of ionizing radiation,” says Philips’ Jean. Breast MR has many benefits over the other modalities.

“MR uses contrast and it can actually see the vascularity associated with groups of abnormal cells that are growing. MR is attractive because it can pick up very small cancers that evade detection by mammography and ultrasound,” says Morris.

However, it’s expensive, requires space and special shielding, and may increase the rate of false-positive results and over-diagnosis. There is also a great need to tailor the equipment specifically for breast exams. “The downside of MR is that the equipment is expensive and difficult to install.

September 2015 Magazine

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