Breast lesions detected by MRI and classified as BI-RADS 2 were shown to not be malignant, and therefore do not need biopsy.
Breast biopsies are unnecessary for breast lesions found by breast MRI and characterized as BI-RADS 2, according to a study published in the journal Clinical Radiology.
Researchers from Austria performed a retrospective single-center study to assess the frequency of malignancies in lesions characterized as benign on breast MRI.
A total of 1,265 patients, mean age 50, were included in the study. All had undergone dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (1.5 T) of the breast during a six-year period.
The researchers examined the MRI characteristics and frequency of malignancy in 192 of the patients found to have breast lesions classified as BI-RADS 2.
The lesions were either histopathologically verified or subjected to both clinical and imaging follow-up of at least two years (range: two to nine years).
The results showed that no lesions that were classified as BI-RADS 2 were found to be malignant. “Histopathology was available in 67 (34.9%) lesions and revealed benign findings exclusively,” the authors wrote. “The remaining 125 (65.1%) lesions did not exhibit changes during the follow-up period and were, therefore, considered negative for malignancy.”
The researchers concluded that breast biopsies are unnecessary for breast lesions classified as BI-RADS 2, due to the absence of malignancies.
Study: Abbreviated Breast MRI Offers Equivalent Accuracy to mpMRI for Women with Dense Breasts
May 20th 2025Emerging research suggests that abbreviated breast MRI offers comparable sensitivity and specificity as multiparametric MRI in women with extremely dense breasts with a nearly 50 percent reduction in reading time for radiologists.