Breast MRI at UPMC

UPMC offers highly specialized diagnostic services, including breast Magnetic Resonance (MRI), which is useful for finding tumor nodules and studying breast implants. Thanks to the use of contrast medium, MRI allows doctors to evaluate neo-angiogenesis, or the birth of a vascular network that nourishes the proliferation of cancer cells. Unlike other methods, this test is able to detect malignant tumor nodules with good accuracy, even very small ones. Breast MRI does not use radiation, is painless, and non-invasive. It does not replace mammography and ultrasound.

Book an Appointment

At UPMC, we offer breast MRI exams at the following facility:

• UPMC Salvator Mundi International Hospital.

MRI Breast: How It Takes Place

The examination almost always requires the administration of contrast medium and it is therefore a creatinine test to evaluate renal function is necessary. To proceed with the administration of the contrast medium, a cannula needle is inserted into the patient's arm, they are asked to lie prone and lay her breast inside a special coil with high spatial resolution. The duration of the exam is 20-30 minutes. To avoid the risk of false positives, it is recommended to undergo the examination in the second week of the menstrual cycle, i.e. from the 7th to the 14th day after the beginning of menstruation (even if oral contraceptives are used). For menopausal women, however, there are no limitations.

Breast MRI: When to Perform It

The examination is particularly indicated in the following cases:

• Research of multicentricity, multifocality, bilaterality, in case of neoplasms already diagnosed with traditional techniques, and candidates for conservative surgery (quadrantectomy).
• Prevention for women at high genetic-familial risk for breast cancer.
• Research of metastatic primary occult carcinoma of suspected mammary origin, with negative ultrasound and mammography.
• Evaluation of response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy.
• Follow-up after conservative surgery, to discriminate between recurrence and scar tissue.
• Evaluation, in women with implants, following a possible rupture of the prostheses or the identification of a tumor nodule.
• Discrepancy between investigations or even difficult interpretation of traditional diagnostic investigations (ultrasound and mammography).

Who Our Services Are For

Generally, breast MRI is requested by the specialist to solve a clinical-diagnostic question after mammography and ultrasound.