Breast imaging through Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is the most sensitive examination for early detection of breast cancer, with detection rates reaching up to approximately 95%. Although the examination does not involve radiation, its cost is high, and the interpretation of the results may reveal a high rate of findings classified as suspicious even when they are not cancerous.
The significant advantage of this examination is its high sensitivity, even in dense breast tissue, and its effectiveness in women carrying proven mutations. It is possible to obtain a tissue sample of the breast using MRI-guided biopsy for diagnostic purposes. Nowadays, health funds are obligated to allow the use of MRI for mutation carriers in the BRCA gene.
In specific cases, MRI is performed in women who are not carriers but have been diagnosed with breast cancer growth. In such situations, MRI may help define the size of the growth and exclude the presence of additional growths that were not detected by other means, including in the healthy breast. The recommendation for this examination in such cases is subject to the treating physician's judgment and is typically approved by health funds.