Annual screening, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and X-ray mammography, is the best way to detect breast cancer in women that have a high genetic risk of the disease, according to a study published online by The Lancet.
Women who have mutations in genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2 have a high risk of developing breast cancer, often at an early age. Regular mammograms are offered to high-risk women to allow for the early identification and treatment of tumours. However, because these women are of a young age, they often have denser breasts, which affect the ability of mammography to detect disease.
Martin Leach (The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK) and colleagues looked at whether MRI would be more effective than mammography in detecting breast tumours in high-risk women. Between August 1997 and May 2004, the investigators recruited around 650 women at high risk of breast cancer, from 22 radiology and genetic centres throughout the UK. The women, aged 35 to 49 years, were offered annual MRI and X-ray mammography for between two and seven years.