Breast MRI Biopsy Coil Helps Pinpoint Breast Cancer
What to Expect During an MRI Biopsy Coil Procedure
- In a breast MRI, the patient lies on her stomach in the MRI machine so that the breasts hang down with gravity.
- The biopsy coil is then placed around the breast and a small amount of compression (much less than that of a mammogram) is applied.
- MRI contrast liquid is injected into the breast. A short series of images is obtained in less than two minutes.
- Once these images are examined, the lesion can then be targeted for biopsy with a core biopsy needle (which is MRI compatible) or localized with a wire (if patient is going to have surgery).
Updated October 2002 — A breast imaging system and biopsy procedure has proven its ability to identify potential breast cancer earlier than other tests.
The Breast MRI Biopsy Coil, available at Memorial Regional Hospital, allows breast radiologists to locate — and in many cases biopsy — small lesions that might otherwise go undetected.
Breast MRI is a special test, used in select high-risk women, to find small lesions invisible to traditional imaging methods such as mammography or breast ultrasound. This provides patients with the earliest and most accurate and complete diagnosis possible.
MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, is a non-invasive procedure that uses powerful magnets and radio waves to construct pictures of the body. Unlike radiography and computed tomographic (CT) imaging, MRI does not use radiation to look inside the body.
For a breast MRI, the patient lies facedown, with the breast hanging freely into a cushioned recess that contains the coil. The bed then moves into the magnet, a giant, tube-like machine, where the patient must remain still while the scans are produced.
"MRI is a more sensitive procedure — that is, we can find additional lesions early on and identify lesions that warrant biopsy in high-risk women," says Mary Hayes, MD, Medical Director of the Breast Center at Memorial Regional Hospital.
The procedure is used as an additional test in patients most likely not to have a lesion detected by mammography alone. They include women who have a family history of breast cancer, a genetic predisposition to breast cancer or a firm area in the breast from a scar or recurrent tumor, those who have had breast surgery, and those who show residual tumors near the surgical site that require additional tissue removal.
Candidates for the procedure typically have already seen a breast surgeon and had a previous breast MRI that was considered suspicious.
Breast MRI biopsies differ only slightly from traditional needle biopsies. Although the needle looks the same, it is specialized and made of a different material, such as titanium, so it is compatible with MRI and can be used in an MRI suite.
Because of the precise diagnosis obtained from the breast MRI, the test allows biopsy sampling of tissue and significantly lowers the chance of large cancers recurring.
"When lesions recur in a cancer patient years down the road, it can be emotionally devastating," Dr. Hayes says. "With this MRI Biopsy procedure, breast cancer patients can be optimally treated, to minimize going through the traumatic experience again."
Memorial Regional Hospital is one of only a few facilities in Florida to provide the Breast MRI Biopsy Coil. The funding was made possible through philanthropic gifts made to the Memorial Foundation's Oncology Fund.
"With this procedure right here in South Florida we can provide this much-needed service to patients from all around the state," Dr. Hayes says.
If you have concerns about your risk of breast cancer, speak to your physician. For referral to a physician, please call the Memorial Healthcare Physician Referral Service at (800) 944-DOCS.