Is breast MRI a better test than mammography?
The two tests are both great exams, each with their own strengths. Most commonly, breast MRI is performed to answer a specific question raised from the patient’s mammogram. Breast MRI is a more sensitive test in detecting breast cancer than mammography. There are some cancers that can be seen with MRI that cannot be seen with mammography. This is especially true in patients who have dense breast tissue. Regardless of breast density, if a breast cancer is present, breast MRI can detect it greater than 95% of the time, while mammography can detect cancer approximately 80-90% of the time. If the patient has dense breast tissue, the rate of detection of cancer can go down to as low as 50% by mammogram alone. For this reason, breast MRI can be quite helpful in this sub-group of patients who have dense breast tissue on their mammograms and a change in their mammogram, a palpable lump or a biopsy-proven cancer. If MRI is a more sensitive test than mammography, can I just have this test instea
