(Bethesda , Maryland , September 12, 2005) -- Suburban Hospital's MRI-guided breast biopsy, the latest tool in the fight against breast cancer, is helping high-risk patients and patients for whom mammogram- or ultrasound-guided biopsy was previously not an option.

“This is a great tool because it allows us to more readily diagnose cancers that are detected only by MRI,” says Radiologist H. Hannah Kim, MD, Director of Breast Imaging for Suburban Hospital . “While Suburban has been performing state-of-the-art breast MRI for several years, it is only recently that we have been able to localize a lesion seen only by MRI for biopsy or surgery.”

Breast MRI is not designed to replace annual mammograms, nor does it replace ultrasound in the workup of an abnormal mammogram or palpable lump. It does, however, promote detection of some breast cancers that may have been missed using these routine screening methods.

Candidates for breast MRI include women who have already been diagnosed with breast cancer and some women who are considered high risk for the disease. Candidates for MRI-guided breast biopsy are those patients who have a lesion detected by breast MRI that is not seen by mammogram or ultrasound. Performed at the hospital by a specially trained radiologist, this outpatient procedure takes less than an hour and requires only a local anesthetic.

The lesion is located on MRI and, while most other facilities must manually estimate where to place the needle, Suburban Hospital uses special software that allows for a faster and more accurate sampling of the tissue.

“This technology is tremendous in that it can be used not only to diagnose new breast cancers, but also to determine the extent of the disease and assist us in planning the appropriate surgical treatment options,” says Pamela Wright, MD, a board certified general surgeon. “Prior to MRI-guided breast biopsy, we had no way to localize lesions that were not visible on the more traditional screening tools. This procedure will facilitate our ability to diagnose cancer at an earlier stage, thereby improving survival rates.”

To learn more about breast MRI at Suburban Hospital , call (301) 896-3939. Click here for more information about the Suburban Breast Center .

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