The American Cancer Society suggested that any woman with a 20-25% lifetime hazard for breast cancer must consider screening with both breast MRI and mammography. So, is there any difference between a breast MRI and a mammogram? The first is ideal for diagnosing and staging, whereas the latter is ideal for regular screening.
The general mammogram is often used with breast MRI to eliminate or spot breast cancer for individuals at high risk of the disease. Breast MRIs are pricier than mammograms, and health insurance doesn’t cover the charges. However, the isolated strengths of these two make this a critical comparison guide. So, read more about breast MRIs and mammograms and discover their differences!
How Does Breast MRI Spot Breast Cancer?
During an MRI, there is no risk of radiation exposure can be seen as it uses magnetic fields to generate images. As per research, one significant benefit of MRI studies is their ability to detect tiny breast lesions missed on a mammography machine. MRIs are efficient at spotting breast cancer among patients with thick breasts and breast implants.
One con of MRI studies is that this process is known to miss calcifications, which might grow into tumors. Moreover, due to the magnetic field generation by an MRI, patients with ferrous implants are not entitled to be screened on this equipment. Hence, breast MRI needs an invasive and pricey injection of contrast dye, such as gadolinium, that helps capture a transparent image, but insurance does not cover the process. This helps distinguish tissue density, and diagnostic precision was 86.9%.
How Does Mammography Spot Breast Cancer?
Mammography is another vital method of diagnosing or screening most patients, which is comparatively more trusted than MRI when spotting dubious calcifications and remains the best modality for patients with ferrous metal implants, which can’t go through an MRI! Patients with a family background of breast cancer or thick breasts could potentially make the most of an MRI study, but with 3D Tomo technology coming into the market, calcification or lesion identification and image quality have been optimized for mammography.
Solid tumors usually have a maximum density on a mammogram compared to ordinary tissue. They can be detected on X-ray as lumpy and lighter masses. A recent study discovered a diagnostic precision of 77.9% with mammography screenings.
False Positives
Precision is based on more than one metric while considering how amazing a test performs. The features are the following:
- Specificity – It’s the percentage of times a test precisely obtains a negative result. Specificity is a test’s ability to bypass misidentifying normal tissue as breast cancer. Breast MRIs are susceptible to false-positive outcomes regarding specificity.
- Sensitivity – It implies the percentage of time an experiment makes a correct identification. Research demonstrates it’s more consistent with MRI than mammograms, mainly when imaging breast tissue is thicker.
One of the leading reasons for false positives with breast MRI is that it can detect both cancerous and benign lesions but might be less able to differentiate between them. The breast MRI can often identify breast cancer cells that have spread to lymph nodes under the armpit. On the other hand, mammograms can spot calcification, which is calcium deposit markers at a tumor site that can aid in distinguishing the tumors.
Conclusion
A mammogram is a leading standard for breast cancer identification. For individuals at higher risk, breast MRI is used to aid in the diagnosis process. The screen tests have distinct strengths and weaknesses. Breast MRI, for instance, can spot tumors that mammograms sometimes miss but yields more false-positive results. However, both a breast MRI and a mammogram can be used simultaneously to help diagnose breast cancer, where charges and insurance coverage might differ.
