Journal of Women's Health Care
Open Access
ISSN: 2167-0420
ISSN: 2167-0420
Lynn Messersmith, Jonas Singer and Gemma Ciesemier
Objective: The average woman in the US has a 12.5% lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer. The key to survival is early diagnosis and treatment, which is why several guidelines currently recommend women at high risk be screened with breast MRI in addition to annual mammography. This study uses the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool (BCRAT) to identify high-risk women and evaluate the utilization of breast MRI in a rural teaching hospital.
Method: A retrospective chart review of 1,144 patients who received mammography or breast MRI in a sixmonth period. Males, women <35 years, women >85 years, and women previously diagnosed with breast cancer were excluded. The BCRAT was used to calculate each patient’s 5-year and lifetime risk of being diagnosed ≥ with19. Breast-cancer Patients with 5% lifetime risk were determined to be high risk and their screening process was evaluated and compared to guideline recommendations for breast MRI.
Results: Twenty patients were identified as high-risk, with lifetime and 5-year risks averaging 23.9% and 4.25%, respectively. The remaining 1,036 patients had lifetime and 5-year risks averaging 7.85% and 1.49%. Three (15%) high-risk patients were appropriately identified and recommended a risk assessment for breast MRI. Zero breast MRIs were performed on high-risk patients. Six average risk patients received breast MRI, with mean lifetime and 5-year risks of 9.55%, and 0.67%.
Conclusion: The BCRAT can aid physicians in identifying women at increased risk of breast cancer. There is continued opportunity for physicians to identify high-risk women and implement breast cancer screening as recommended by current guidelines. In this facility, breast MRI may be underutilized in breast cancer screening for women at increased risk of developing breast cancer.