Supplemental breast cancer-screening by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in women with dense breasts: A systematic review

Abstract

- Objectives: In the context of women with dense breasts, the purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the diagnostic performance and the cost-effectiveness of MRI as an additional screening method for breast cancer.

- Methods: The study utilizes the Medline, Embase, and Scopus databases to conduct a comprehensive search from 2005 to July 2023 in order to identify relevant research articles.

- Results: 8 of the 14 studies included in this review assessed the diagnostic performance of MRI in the screening of women with dense breasts. The remaining 6 research investigated the cost-effectiveness of utilizing MRI as an additional screening method. The combined results showed that MRI has a sensitivity of 75% – 100% and, a specificity of 87% – 97% whereas positive predictive values (PPV) showed a spectrum from 7.7% – 56%, the negative predictive values (NPV) varying between 99.7% – 100%. The cost-effectiveness of MRI in the context of screening women with dense breasts is noteworthy, confirming its potential benefit in this particular setting.

- Conclusions: An increased sensitivity in cancer detection has been shown by the utilization of additional MRI in breast cancer screening among women with dense breast tissue. However, it produced variable positive predictive values (PPV) for the identification of breast cancer and slightly decreased diagnostic specificity. The inclusion of additional MRI in the detection of breast cancer in women with dense breasts remains economically advantageous, according to the cost-effectiveness studies.