The Role of Multiparametric MRI in Distinguishing Fibroepithelial Breast Lesions from Malignant Neoplasms: A Critical Analysis

Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate the contribution of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters to the differentiation of fibroepithelial lesions of the breast from malignant breast masses. Materials and Methods:We enrolled 200 patients, 100 with fibroepithelial lesions and 100 with breast cancer, from the Radiology Clinic Breast Polyclinic at Istanbul Training and Research Hospital between 2016 and 2017.Thirty patients from each group were excluded for various reasons.MRIs were conducted using a 1.5 Tesla MRI device (GE Healthcare Signa HDi 1.5T), with dynamic contrast-enhanced breast MRI performed in the prone position with a breast coil.Axial T1-weighted, axial T2-weighted, sagittal T2-weighted, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and dynamic contrast-enhanced images were obtained for all patients, with DWI images acquired using b values of 0 and 850.Following non-contrast imaging, 0.1 mmol/kg of contrast agent (gadolinium preparation) was injected at a rate of 3 ml/s, and six consecutive phased series images were obtained for the same region.Results: In our study, study groups were formed with 70 patients in each group.We found that fibroepithelial lesions in our study were significantly younger in age, smaller in size, with oval smooth contours, higher apparent diffusion coefficient values, reaching the peak contrast enhancement later, and demonstrating a Type 1 curve pattern compared to the malignant group. Conclusion:In conclusion, dynamic breast MRI contributes to the differentiation between malignant masses with suspicion of malignancy and benign fibroepithelial lesions.