Validating the Use of Breast MRE as a Non-Invasive Diagnostic Technique for Breast Cancer

Motivation: While breast tumors can be identified and characterized through biopsy, MR Elastography (MRE) could provide a method of diagnosis with similar sensitivity and specificity while being non-invasive. Goal(s): Validate the use of MRE against histological grading in biopsy and contrast enhanced MRI breast tumors. Approach: MRE was performed on patients with known breast tumors to measure the stiffness non-invasively and validate it against biopsy. Results: Statistically significant correlation was determined between MRE-derived tumor stiffness and histological grade of biopsy. Impact: The statistically significant association between breast MRE results, a non-invasive method of breast cancer diagnosis, and histological grading, an invasive method, invites the possibility that physicians could diagnose breast cancer non-invasively through further study.