Whole-body MRI finds breast cancer metastases earlier

SAN DIEGO-Whole-body MRI should be the go-to imaging modality for detecting bone metastases in asymptomatic patients, according to a study presented at the 2010 American Roentgen Ray Society meeting.

Joshita Singh, MD, and colleagues at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital and Research Center in Pune, India, included 99 patients with known breast cancer.

"Of the 99 patients, MRI accurately revealed that 47 patients were positive for metastases while 52 were negative. Of those patients who were positive for metastases, whole-body MRI frequently detected bone metastases earlier when the patient was still asymptomatic," Dr. Singh said (abstract 194).