Intramammary extension of breast cancer: Diagnosis with MR mammography

Purpose  Intramammary extension of breast cancer was investigated using contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging by comparing MR findings with the histopathology of specimens used for pretreatment planning. Materials and Methods  Thirty-nine breast cancers were examined. The dynamic protocol was performed with a 2- or 3-dimensional fast spin echo sequence (1.5 T), once before and 2-5 times immediately after Gd-DTPA administration with an original fat suppression technique. The findings were correlated with the histopathology. Results  All main tumors showed early enhancement. All with direct invasion histopathologically showed spicular enhancement. The four patients who had separate nodular enhancement showed satellite lesions histopathologically. Three-typed MR findings were found to be indicative of an intraductal component. Conclusion  Various forms of breast cancer were reliably demonstrated using MR imaging. MR imaging could be useful for the pretreatment planning for patients with breast cancer.