MR Mammography (MRM)

1 Introduction.- 2 Basic Concepts.- 2.1 Basic Principles of MRI.- 2.2 Contrast Media in MRI.- 2.3 Medical Significance of Breast Tumors.- 2.4 Breast Imaging Modalities.- 3 Brief Review of the Development of Magnetic Resonance Mammography.- 3.1 Development of MRM.- 3.2 Present Investigations.- 4 Present Indications for MRM.- 5 Optimum Procedure for the MRM Examination.- 5.1 History.- 5.2 Procedure.- 5.3 Problems and Sources of Error in MRM.- 6 Clinical Aspects.- 6.1 General Criteria for Image Interpretation.- 6.2 The Normal Breast.- 6.3 Carcinoma.- 6.4 Fibroadenoma.- 6.5 Cysts.- 6.6 Scars.- 6.7 Mastopathies.- 6.8 Special Cases.- 6.9 Comparison of the Results of MRM and X-Ray Mammography.- 7 Teaching Examples.- 8 Interpretation.- 8.1 General.- 8.2 The Normal Breast.- 8.3 Carcinoma.- 8.4 Fibroadenoma.- 8.5 Cysts.- 8.6 Mastopathies.- 8.7 Scars.- 8.8 Lactating Breast.- 8.9 Comparison of MRM Results with X-Ray Mammography.- 8.10 Future Outlook.- 9 Summary.- Appendix: Research on the Development and Optimization of the Examination Technique.- A.1 MRI Equipment.- A.2 Coils for Breast Examination.- A.2.1 Coil Development.- A.2.2 Comparison of Three Different Breast Coils.- A.3 Examination Parameters.- A.4 Spin-Echo Examination Technique.- A.5 Gradient-Echo Sequences: Test Phase.- A.6 Dynamic Examinations.- A.7 3D-Dynamic Gradient-Echo Examinations.- A.8 In Vitro Studies of MR Contrast Enhancement.- A.9 Two-Dimensional Multislice FLASH Sequence.- A. 10 Spectroscopic Examinations.- Acknowledgment.- References.

To date, mammography has been the only effectve procedure in the diagnosis of breast cancer. However, due to its failure to detect small cancers and the recording of many false positive findings, a reliable alternative is needed. MRM, an imaging modality with a high accuracy rate, will become the method to choose in the future for the diagnosis of breast cancer.