Extra Tests Find More Breast Cancers

Adding other tests to a mammogram may help to find more breast cancers in some high-risk women, a new study suggests. The study included nearly 2,700 women. All of them had dense breast tissue, which increases breast cancer risk. Each woman also had at least one other factor that increased her risk, such as certain genes. Everyone received a mammogram and an ultrasound each year for 3 years. On average, for every 1,000 women, the ultrasound found 4.3 cancers each year that the mammogram did not find. Some of the women also agreed to have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. This was done soon after the third annual mammogram. For every 1,000 women, the MRI found 14.7 additional cancers. However, the ultrasound and MRI tests also increased the number of false-positive results. These were suspicious results that turned out not to be cancer.