Breast MR spectroscopy reduces false positives

Spectroscopy can help reduce breast MRI false positives, which tend to increase at various stages of the menstrual cycle, according to researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Researchers led by Dr. Lia Bartella performed prospective MRS scans on 27 high-risk subjects undergoing screening breast MRI. Eight were in different stages of their menstrual cycle. The investigators defined a positive MRS as having a choline peak greater than or equal to 2.

The protocol was tested in healthy breast tissue contralateral to the diseased breast. Researchers found that choline did not vary in any of the women and ruled out false positives regardless of a subject's menstrual cycle stage. The result is confidence in true-positive and true-negative findings when they perform MRS in the breast, Bartella said at the 2005 RSNA meeting.