EFFICACY OF X-RAY MAMMOGRAPHY, SONOMAMMOGRAPHY AND MR MAMMOGRAPHY FOR EVALUATION OF BREAST LESIONS IN WOMEN

Aims & Objectives: The purpose of this article is to compare the effectiveness of X-Ray mammography, Sonomammography and MR mammography for evaluation of breast lesions in women. Materials and Methods:  This prospective study has been carried out on 50 patients presenting with breast lump or nipple discharge who were subjected to mammography and sonomammography. The high BIRADS lesions (III and above) then underwent MRI mammography. All patients underwent ultrasound guided FNAC of the breast lesions. The diagnostic sensitivities, specificities, positive predictive values and negative predictive values of the three imaging modalities were compared.  The imaging features of suspicious malignant breast lesions on all three modalities were then correlated with final histopathological diagnosis. Result: The sensitivity and negative predictive values of MR mammography was significantly higher than those of mammography or sonomammography. The specificity and positive predictive value of sonomammogram was significantly higher than those of mammography and MR mammography. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the sensitivity of breast imaging can be increased by complementary use of MRI, especially for patients in whom the status of breast lesion remains unclear. MRI though more cost prohibitive, may help to reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies and diagnostic ambiguities.