Document Type

Abstract

Publication Date

2-11-2026

Academic Year

2025-2026

Comments

Presented at the 2026 Scholarly Inquiry (SI) Research Project Symposium.

Abstract

Introduction/Purpose: Current American Society of Breast Surgeons guidelines recommend screening or diagnostic MRI for newly diagnosed breast cancer in high-risk patients but provide no lower threshold for use. Several studies show limited benefit of preoperative MRI (pMRI), leading to inconsistent practices. As pMRI ordering increases at our institution, we aimed to evaluate the frequency of contralateral findings on pMRI and its impact on time to treatment in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.

Methods: This retrospective review analyzed 1,580 patients with a BIRADS-6 diagnosis between 2020–2025 within the Jefferson system. The intervention group included patients who underwent pMRI after diagnosis and before treatment planning; controls had no pMRI. Outcomes included frequency and classification of additional MRI- detected lesions, subsequent imaging/biopsies, and time from diagnosis to treatment. Preliminary analysis of 434 patients used T-tests with 95% CI and Holm-Bonferroni adjustment.

Results/Conclusions: Of 434 patients, 330 (76%) underwent surgery first; 32% received pMRI and were more likely to be white. Of the pMRI recipients, 16% required additional biopsy, 36% of which were malignant. These patients were more likely to undergo mastectomy. Time to surgery was significantly longer in the pMRI group (63.6 vs 53.6 days), while time to neoadjuvant therapy was unchanged. We hypothesize that the increased time from diagnosis to surgery in surgery first patients may be due to OR scheduling difficulties exacerbated by delays due to MRIs. Our findings suggest pMRI may delay surgery without clear benefit, supporting more selective imaging guidelines.

Additional Files
Kaufman_Rosemary_poster.pdf (373 kB)

Language

English

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