MRI and histological prognostic factors in breast cancer

"After skin cancer, breast carcinoma is the most common malignancy in women. A woman who lives to the age of 90 has a 1 in 8 risk of developing breast cancer in her lifetime. It is ironic and tragic that cancer affecting an organ such as the breast which is so easily accessible for clinical and diagnostic examination, continues to claim many human lives". This retrospective study demonstrated that apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) generated by ADC maps provided by 3.0 Tesla (3T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), correlated significantly with one of the most important histological factors in invasive breast cancer: the grading. ADC seems to be a useful tool for identifying highly aggressive breast tumors and determining biological behavior to obtain more accurate prognostic information and guide therapeutic choices.