Contrast-enhanced in-phase Dixon sequence impacts biopsy clip detection on breast MRI

Leesburg, VA, September 14, 2022—According to ARRS’ American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), the contrast-enhanced in-phase Dixon sequence could reduce the need for correlation among other imaging modalities to better identify areas of prior biopsy during breast MRI interpretation.

“Compared with clinical sequences, contrast-enhanced in-phase Dixon had higher sensitivity for detecting breast biopsy clips on MRI, as well as higher reader confidence and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), without change in positive predictive value (PPV),” wrote corresponding and co-first author, Michael W. Taylor-Cho, MD, MPH, of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC.

Dr. Taylor-Cho and team’s retrospective study numbered 164 women (mean age, 50.3 years) with a total of 281 breast biopsy clips who underwent contrast-enhanced breast MRI between January 2, 2019, and April 16, 2020. Blinded to patient identifiers, sequence information, and biopsy clip details, three radiologists independently annotated their findings on three clinical sequences—T1-weighted (T1W) non-fat-suppressed (NFS), STIR, first phase from dynamic contrast-enhanced T1W fat-suppressed (FS) —as well as contrast-enhanced in-phase Dixon. Confidence was then recorded on a scale of 1–4.

Ultimately, compared with T1W NSF, STIR, and T1WFS sequences, the contrast-enhanced in-phase Dixon sequence evidenced the highest sensitivity for breast biopsy clip detection (85.1% vs. 26.6%-78.2%), highest reader confidence (3.5 vs. 1.7–3.0), and highest CNR (4.05 vs 0.54–1.21), without a significant difference in PPV (96.4% vs. 92.2%–96.1%).

Employing this contrast-enhanced in-phase Dixon sequence may “help address a current challenge in routine clinical breast MRI interpretation,” the authors of this AJR article concluded.

North America’s first radiological society, the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) remains dedicated to the advancement of medicine through the profession of medical imaging and its allied sciences. An international forum for progress in radiology since the discovery of the x-ray, ARRS maintains its mission of improving health through a community committed to advancing knowledge and skills with the world’s longest continuously published radiology journal—American Journal of Roentgenology—the ARRS Annual Meeting, InPractice magazine, topical symposia, myriad multimedia educational materials, as well as awarding scholarships via The Roentgen Fund®.

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