Comparison of detectability of breast cancer by abbreviated breast MRI based on diffusion-weighted images and postcontrast MRI

To compare the detectability of unenhanced abbreviated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and abbreviated postcontrast MRI for breast cancer. The study population consisted of 87 patients undergoing breast MRI between December 2016 and March 2017 in a clinical setting. All breast MRIs were performed using a 1.5-T MRI scanner with a 16-channel breast radiofrequency coil. The abbreviated protocols based on DWI (AP1) and postcontrast MRI (AP2) were assessed independently by two radiologists. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed and the areas under the curves (AUCs) were compared between AP1 and AP2. The study included 87 patients with 89 breast cancer lesions <= 2 cm in diameter. The sensitivity/specificity for AP1 and AP2 for reader 1 was 89.9/97.6% and 95.5/90.6%, respectively, and those for reader 2 was 95.5/94.1% and 98.9/94.1%, respectively. The AUCs for AP1 and AP2 for reader 1 were 0.9629 and 0.9640 (p = 0.95), respectively, and those for reader 2 were 0.9755 and 0.9843 (p = 0.46), respectively. The detectability of the unenhanced abbreviated protocol based on DWI would be comparable to that of abbreviated postcontrast MRI for breast cancer.