For some women who are at higher risk for breast cancer, the American Cancer Society’s has new guidelines that recommend those women get an MRI scan along with their annual mammogram.
While MRI’s are more sensitive and is likely to show more spots in the breast, it is often difficult to know if those spots are cancerous, and biopsy may be required. This is why the MRI is only recommended for high-risk women.
According to the American Cancer Society, an MRI screening in addition to mammograms is recommended for women who meet at least one of the following conditions:
- they have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation
- they have a first-degree relative (parent, sibling, child) with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, even if they have yet to be tested themselves
- their lifetime risk of breast cancer has been scored at 20%-25% or greater, based on one of several accepted risk assessment tools that look at family history and other factors
- they had radiation to the chest between the ages of 10 and 30
- they have Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Cowden syndrome, or Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome, or may have one of these syndromes based on a history in a first-degree relative.
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