MR Mammography (MRM)

To date, mammography has been the only effectve procedure in the diagnosis of breast cancer. However, due to its failure to detect small cancers and the recording of many false positive findings, a reliable alternative is needed. MRM, an imaging modality with a high accuracy rate, will become the method to choose in the future for the diagnosis of breast cancer.

1 Introduction.- 2 Basic Concepts.- 2.1 Basic Principles of MRI.- 2.2 Contrast Media in MRI.- 2.3 Medical Significance of Breast Tumors.- 2.4 Breast Imaging Modalities.- 3 Brief Review of the Development of Magnetic Resonance Mammography.- 3.1 Development of MRM.- 3.2 Present Investigations.- 4 Present Indications for MRM.- 5 Optimum Procedure for the MRM Examination.- 5.1 History.- 5.2 Procedure.- 5.3 Problems and Sources of Error in MRM.- 6 Clinical Aspects.- 6.1 General Criteria for Image Interpretation.- 6.2 The Normal Breast.- 6.3 Carcinoma.- 6.4 Fibroadenoma.- 6.5 Cysts.- 6.6 Scars.- 6.7 Mastopathies.- 6.8 Special Cases.- 6.9 Comparison of the Results of MRM and X-Ray Mammography.- 7 Teaching Examples.- 8 Interpretation.- 8.1 General.- 8.2 The Normal Breast.- 8.3 Carcinoma.- 8.4 Fibroadenoma.- 8.5 Cysts.- 8.6 Mastopathies.- 8.7 Scars.- 8.8 Lactating Breast.- 8.9 Comparison of MRM Results with X-Ray Mammography.- 8.10 Future Outlook.- 9 Summary.- Appendix: Research on the Development and Optimization of the Examination Technique.- A.1 MRI Equipment.- A.2 Coils for Breast Examination.- A.2.1 Coil Development.- A.2.2 Comparison of Three Different Breast Coils.- A.3 Examination Parameters.- A.4 Spin-Echo Examination Technique.- A.5 Gradient-Echo Sequences: Test Phase.- A.6 Dynamic Examinations.- A.7 3D-Dynamic Gradient-Echo Examinations.- A.8 In Vitro Studies of MR Contrast Enhancement.- A.9 Two-Dimensional Multislice FLASH Sequence.- A. 10 Spectroscopic Examinations.- Acknowledgment.- References.