The Assessment of Background Parenchymal Enhancement (BPE) in a High-Risk Population: What Causes BPE?

Abstract OBJECTIVE : To investigate promoting factors for background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) in MR mammography (MRM). METHODS : 146 patients were retrospectively evaluated, including 91 high-risk patients (50 BRCA patients, 41 patients with elevated lifetime risk). 56 screening patients were matched to the high-risk cases on the basis of age. The correlation of BPE with factors such as fibroglandular tissue (FGT), age, menopausal status, breast cancer, high-risk precondition as well as motion were investigated using linear regression. RESULTS : BPE positively correlated with FGT ( P P P >.05). A high-risk precondition showed a significant impact on the formation of BPE ( P P CONCLUSION : BPE positively correlated with FGT and negatively correlated with age. Cancer did not have an effect on BPE. A high-risk precondition appears to have a negative effect on BPE. However, when corrected for motion, high-risk preconditions became insignificant. Technical as well as physiological influences seem to play an important role in the formation of BPE.