The diagnosis of invasive lobular breast carcinoma. Does MRI have a role?

Invasive lobular breast carcinoma accounts for approximately 15% of all bre ast cancers and is difficult to detect using conventional breast imaging te chniques. We report a comparison between clinical, ultrasound scan (USS), m ammographic and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 12 patients with invasi ve lobular breast carcinomas. Actual tumour size was ascertained by histopa thology. MRI detected 21 of the 22 invasive lobular cancers whilst mammography and U SS detected 16 and 20 respectively. 19 tumours were clinically palpable. MR I was more accurate at assessing tumour size than USS and clinical examinat ion, both of which underestimated tumour size. (C) 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.