Breast cancer may be detected earlier with an MRI scan in women with dense breast tissue. This is apparent from Dutch research, the first results of which were published on Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine.
About 8 percent of the million Dutch women who have an annual mammogram have very dense breast tissue. This makes tumors more difficult to trace, because an X-ray of their breasts is white. This percentage of women is twice as likely to develop breast cancer.
If an MRI study is performed, about three hundred cases of breast cancer per year would have been detected earlier.
Read also: 'More insight into the survival chances of women with breast cancer'
But there are also disadvantages to making an MRI scan. A scan is many times more expensive than an X-ray. Also, a scan can register other abnormalities that later turn out to be nothing. Waiting for the results can be mentally tough for women.
State Secretary Paul Blokhuis of Public Health has informed the House of Representatives in a letter that he has asked the Health Council and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) for advice.
Source:Nu.nl
