The value of DCE- MRI of the breast as a diagnostic tool in assessing amorphous calcifications in screening mammography

PURPOSE: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in differentiating benign and malignant amorphous calcifications. METHODS: This study included 193 female patients with 197 suspicious amorphous calcifications detected on screening mammography. The patients’ demographics, clinical follow-up, imaging, and pathology outcomes were reviewed, and sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of DCE-MRI were calculated. RESULTS: Of 197 lesions (193 patients) included in the study, 50 (25.4%) were histologically proved to be malignant. DCE-MRI based on breast imaging report and diagnosis system (BI-RADS) had a sensitivity of 94.4%, specificity of 85.7%, PPV of 69.1%, and NPV of 97.7% for the detection of malignant amorphous calcifications. Notably, diagnosis solely based on the presence or absence of DCE-MRI enhancement showed the same sensitivity but significantly decreased specificity (44.8%, p < 0.001) and PPV (44.8%, p < 0.001). In patients with a minimal or mild degree of background parenchymal enhancement (BPE), the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV increased to 100%, 90.6%, 78.6%, and 100%, respectively. However, in patients with a moderate degree of BPE, MRI resulted in three false negatives of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Overall, the addition of DCE-MRI detected all invasive lesions and could decrease unnecessary biopsy by 65.5%. CONCLUSION: DCE-MRI based on BI-RADS has the potential to improve the diagnosis of suspicious amorphous calcifications and avoid unnecessary biopsy, especially for those with low-degree BPE.