Management of high-risk breast lesions found on mammogram or ultrasound: the value of contrast-enhanced MRI to exclude malignancy.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the performance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to exclude malignancy in biopsy-proven high-risk breast lesions prior to surgical excision.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Breast MRIs performed after a core needle biopsy (CNB) yielding high-risk pathology were evaluated for the presence of suspicious enhancement. The diagnostic performance of MRI to exclude malignancy was calculated.

RESULTS: The average reader sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value and accuracy of MRI were 92%, 51%, 98%, 22% and 56%, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Lack of enhancement on MRI at the site of a high-risk lesion was useful for excluding malignancy.