Patients refusing breast MRI not as common as it seems, experts say

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- Recent news coverage makes it seem as if women at high risk for breast cancer are refusing breast MRI screening left and right. That’s simply not the case, according to several experts. The presumption hinges on a study published in Radiology in which 42.1% of women refused to be screened for breast cancer using MR. About a quarter of them cited claustrophobia as a concern and another 18.2% said time constraints were an issue. “I do not think the study’s finding is representative of most clinical practices evaluating patients with a diagnosis of breast cancer, or high-risk screening,” said Dr. Kathy Schilling from Boca Radiology in Boca Raton, FL. The women who are recommended for MR imaging are highly motivated because they are either at high risk for breast cancer or recently diagnosed with the disease. They want to undergo screening, said Dr. Constance Lehman, vice chair of radiology at the University of Washington in Seattle, and director of breast imaging at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. What may have happened in this study, which was a part of the American College of Radiology Imaging Network Trial 6666, is the 1215 women included were tired. Tired of being researched. Tired of undergoing screening modalities. After all, the women had already completed three rounds of annual screening with mammography and ultrasound before being approached for MR screening.

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