The added value of extended field of view in breast MRI cancer patients

Background: Incidental extramammary findings on breast MRI may be lesions of medical importance, benign or metastatic lesions. Objective: Assessment of the added value of extending the field of view in MRI breast study for detection of extramammary findings and its impact on the diagnosis. Patients and Methods: A cross sectional study of 100 breast MRI s was conducted with extending the field of view from lower neck to upper abdominal levels. Results: 100 incidental findings were found in 69/100 (69%) examined patients. 10/100incidental findings (10%) were confirmed to be malignant while the remaining 90/100 (90%) benign. The most common site was the liver (38/69; 55.07%), followed by the bone (30/69; 43.47%), Heart (14/69; 20.28%), lung (5/69;7.24%) ,chest wall (5/69;7.24%), thyroid gland (3/69;4.34%), spleen (2/69;2.89%), left supraclavicular lymph nodes (1/69;1.44%), diaphragm (1/69;1.44%), gall bladder (1/69;1.44%). The incidence of incidental findings resulted to be high in that group of patients by extending the MRI field of view. MRI findings has high correct diagnosis with a high diagnostic accuracy value. Conclusion: Incidental extramammary findings on breast MRI are common. Benign lesions represent the most frequent findings, however malignant ones need to be searched especially in patients with personal history of breast cancer because they could influence the clinical patient management. Extending the field of view in breast MRI can characterize incidental findings with high accuracy value.