Abstract
Introduction: The optimized short breast MRI protocol for breast cancer screening was developed to address some limitations of the complete protocol, such as long examination duration and high cost. This study aimed to evaluate the intraobserver agreement between optimized short and complete protocols in the interpretation of breast MRI images. Specifically, we assessed the acquisition and reading times of the images, as well as the time required for report generation. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in asymptomatic women with high breast density, at moderate and high risk, who underwent breast MRI in private institutions in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. An optimized short protocol was simulated on a computer by selecting images from the complete examination. The examinations were read independently, with BI-RADS categories assigned. Intraobserver agreement between this shorter protocol and the complete protocol was assessed. Results: A total of 170 women were included. A 100% BI-RADS agreement rate was observed in categories 1 and 2, an 80.95% agreement rate in category 3, and a 93.75% agreement rate in category 4 between the protocols. The unweighted kappa value was 0.955 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.916–0.993), while the weighted kappa value was 0.969 (95% CI: 0.943–0.995). Furthermore, the optimized short protocol reduced examination duration by 21 min. Conclusion: The optimized short breast MRI protocol provides a time-efficient alternative for breast cancer screening in moderate- to high-risk populations with dense breasts while maintaining strong agreement in BI-RADS classification. This protocol reduces costs and enhances patient tolerability, thereby improving accessibility to breast MRI.
Plain Language Summary
This study looked at how well a quicker, simpler breast MRI scan works compared to a standard, more detailed MRI scan for women who have dense breasts and are at higher risk of breast cancer. We tested whether the MRI-abbreviated protocol, which takes less time and uses fewer images, can provide reliable results similar to the MRI full protocol. We included 170 women who were asymptomatic but at higher risk of breast cancer. They had dense breast tissue and were screened using both the full and the abbreviated MRI protocols. We found that the abbreviated MRI was just as good as the full MRI in identifying cases of breast cancer. The abbreviated scan took only 14 min on average, compared to 35 min for the full scan. This makes the abbreviated scan a more time-efficient option without compromising on accuracy. Our results suggest that the abbreviated MRI can be an effective alternative for screening high-risk women, potentially improving the efficiency of breast cancer detection in busy clinical settings. This study adds valuable information for medical practices considering more streamlined breast cancer screening options.
