New Technique Uses Sound Waves, MRI to Diagnose Breast Cancer

A new imaging technique for diagnosing breast cancer has been developed by researchers at the Mayo Clinic.

Magnetic resonance elastography uses a combination of sound waves and MRI to evaluate the mechanical properties of breast tissue, according to the study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Investigators modified an MRI scanner to beam sound waves into the breast during magnetic resonance imaging. The data was then processed to show images displaying the mechanical properties of the breast tissue.

"Malignant breast tumors tend to be much harder than normal tissues and most benign tumors," said Dr. Richard Ehman, diagnostic radiologist and principal investigator of the study. "This explains why breast cancer is often detected by physical examination simply on the basis of a very hard lump in the breast."

The technique was tested on six women with known breast cancer and six healthy women. The images taken of the women with breast cancer showed areas of very high tissue stiffness in the areas of the known tumors. The average stiffness of breast cancer tissue was more than four times higher than normal breast tissue, according to the researchers.

"Conventional MRI is very sensitive for detecting breast cancer, but unfortunately there are too many false positives," said Ehman. "The goal of our research is to determine whether we can use this new MR elastography technique to improve the accuracy of MRI for breast cancer diagnosis, thereby reducing the need for biopsies."

"Standard imaging techniques such as computed tomography, ultrasonography and MRI do not provide information about the mechanical properties of tissue," said Jennifer Kugel, research technologist and co-author of the study. "This new imaging technology is exciting because it allows us to look at tissues in a way that has never before been possible."

Other sources: Mayo Clinic