MRIs May Find Hidden Breast Tumors

Early detection is key for breast cancer survival, and a new study presented at a recent cancer conference has found that MRI scans may be extremely effective at finding breast tumors in women for whom mammography doesn't always work very well.

Janet Marino, 33, has a family history of breast cancer, and she carries one of the so-called breast cancer genes -- which means her lifetime risk of developing beast cancer is 80 to 90 percent.

"I know that I'm doing everything in my power to make sure that we are doing everything for early detection," Marino said.

What that means for Marino is yearly MRI scans of her breasts, in addition to the usual mammograms and ultrasound. She is exactly the kind of young, high-risk woman who will benefit from breast MRI scanning, according to several studies presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meetings in Chicago.

"We're able to see things on the breast MRI that are not necessarily seen on mammography," said Dr. Mark Robson of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. "They may not be seen by a mammogram, for instance, because the breasts are dense or because the tumors are growing quickly and just aren't identifiable yet."

In fact, Dutch and German studies found that MRIs were nearly 100 percent successful at finding breast tumors, although the scans also found a fair number of false-positive results, meaning abnormalities that were not actually breast cancer.

Experts stressed that MRIs are not ready to replace mammography, which is still the gold standard, but that certain high-risk, young women should discuss MRIs with their doctors.

Another important finding presented in Chicago was the somewhat surprising side effect from cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins. A Dutch study reported that people taking statins for at least four years reduced their overall cancer risk by 20 percent and even more in certain cancers.

"Cancers that were most significantly reduced were renal cancer and prostate cancer," said Dr. Matthijs Graaf of the University of Amsterdam. "They were reduced by about 70 percent."

Another study conducted by the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation shows that most of the public doesn't know about other proven ways to help reduce their cancer risk.

"These include issues of diet, exercise, even smoking cessation," said Dr. Bernard Levin. "And also disturbingly, people also believed that herbal supplements can be helpful, and there's no evidence that that's the case at all."

There was also some modest good news for lung cancer patients involving the effectiveness of chemotherapy. A drug called Alimta was as effective as the standard Taxotere but with significantly fewer side effects. Also, other types of chemotherapy do benefit certain lung cancer patients.

Those experts said that the misconception that lung cancer is untreatable has led to patients not getting therapies that may, in fact, prolong life, even if just a bit.

American Society of Clinical Oncology