Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided interventions, including biopsies and wire localizations, are fundamental to any breast imaging practice due to the high sensitivity but limited specificity of breast MRI. The basic steps of MRI-guided biopsies are similar regardless of the vendor or platform, and technical considerations include approach planning, patient preparation and positioning, lesion targeting, and directional sampling using a vacuum-assisted biopsy technique. Unique challenges related to MRI-guided biopsies include vanishing lesions due to contrast washout, obscuration of the biopsy site due to susceptibility artifacts, and limited access to posteromedial lesions. A careful approach to planning, patient positioning, and lesion targeting will maximize the chances for a successful biopsy. Due to overlapping imaging features between benign and malignant lesions, radiologic-pathologic concordance is difficult and essential for further patient management.
Level of evidence: 5 Technical Efficacy: Stage 3 J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2017;46:631-645.
Keywords: MRI-guided breast biopsy; MRI-guided breast intervention; MRI-guided wire localization; breast imaging; vacuum-assisted breast biopsy.
© 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.