Accuracy of Dynamic Contrast Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DCE-MRI) in Detecting Breast Tumors
Asma Elamin
Department of Diagnostic Radiologic Technology, College of Medical Radiological Sciences, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan.
Ahmed Abukonna
Department of Diagnostic Radiologic Technology, College of Medical Radiological Sciences, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan.
Bushra A. Elmalik
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Faculty of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, The National Ribat University, Khartoum, Sudan.
Mona Ali
Department of Diagnostic Radiologic Technology, College of Medical Radiological Sciences, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan.
Mohamed Yousef
Department of Diagnostic Radiologic Technology, College of Medical Radiological Sciences, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan.
Ekhlas Abdelaziz
Department of Diagnostic Radiologic Technology, College of Medical Radiological Sciences, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan.
Mustafa Z. Mahmoud *
Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aims: To evaluate the accuracy of dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) in characterizing breast tumors.
Study Design: This prospective study included 254 patients (4 males and 250 females; ages range between 15-78 years) underwent breast MRI examination.
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in different MRI medical centers in Khartoum, Sudan between June 2014 and July 2016.
Methodology: Patients were examined using two sequences of MRI; routine-MRI and DCE-MRI. Signal intensities were evaluated from different MRI sequences in different tumors; the histopathology result was used as a reference for each case.
Results: The sensitivity and specificity of DCE-MRI were (82.6%) and (73.2%) respectively. In addition, breast cancer was more enhanced with fat suppression images. Image subtraction technique showed that breast cancer has heterogeneous features (89.9%), and ring enhancement was clearly seen on (8.7%).
Conclusion: The accuracy of MRI in this study was more than other imaging modalities in characterizing breast tumors. Therefore, it offers a new method to detect breast cancer in its early stage, and help improve the survival rate.
Keywords: Accuracy, breast tumors, histopathology, imaging, MRI, protocols