Long-term impact of staging breast magnetic resonance imaging—a risk for overtreatment?

Since the introduction of contrast enhanced breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as an additional modality in breast imaging in 1989, there has been much debate regarding its role in clinical practice (1). Although it has an impressive sensitivity (reportedly 94–100%) for detecting breast lesions, this advantage has to be balanced with its markedly decreased specificity, ranging between 34–70% (2). The relatively high incidence of false positive findings and patient call backs coupled with the increased cost and the need for radiologists trained in breast MRI interpretation, have limited the application of this technology to date.