Contrast mammography useful substitute to MRI for assessing treatment response in breast cancer

Italy: In a recent study, the researchers suggest that contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) is a useful alternative to supplemental MRI for assessing treatment response in breast cancer where MRI is contraindicated or not tolerated. 

The study, published in the American Journal of Roentgenology showed that following neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) for breast cancer, CEM, and MRI yielded comparable assessments of lesion size (both slightly overestimated vs pathology) and RECIST categories. Also, there was no significant difference in specificity for pathologic complete response (pCR). However, MRI had higher sensitivity for pCR. 

In various clinical settings, contrast-enhanced mammography is rapidly expanding as a credible alternative to MRI. D. Bernardi, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano (Milan), Italy, and colleagues, therefore, conducted the study to compare CEM and MRI for neoadjuvant therapy assessment in breast cancer patients in a prospective study.

The study included 51 patients (mean age, 46±11 years) with biopsy-proven breast cancer from May 2015 to April 2018 who were candidates for NAT. Subjects underwent both CEM and MRI before, during, and after NAT (pre-NAT, mid-NAT, and post-NAT, respectively). Post-NAT CEM included a 6-minute delayed acquisition.