Does LCIS show up on an MRI?

orange1

Along with IDC and DCIS, I also had some LCIS in my right breast.  Mammogram did not show any of this due to dense breast tissue. 

I had an MRI just prior to my mastectomy (right side only) and it clearly showed the two IDC tumors.  It did not show any abnormality in my left breast. 

Now I am wondering if an MRI will show LCIS if it is present.  I would like to hear your experiences.

Thanks, Jackie

Anonymous

Jackie--it is possible for LCIS to be detected on mammo (mine was), US or MRI, but usually it isn't. It's usually an incidental finding---they just happen to find it alongside other "stuff".  But in general, MRIs are better at detecting the invasive bc's and mammos are better at detecting the non-invasive bc's from everything I've read. I think they're finding more LCIS now because of the new digital mammos. It's really good you are getting MRIs with your dense breast tissue. One radiologist I had told me she wished everyone with dense breasts could get MRIs. I have mammos alternating every 6 months with MRIs for high risk surveillance due to my LCIS and family history--I figure what one test doesn't pick up, the other one probably will. (I have US on as needed basis). I finished my 5 years of tamoxifen which I tolerated well with minimal SEs

Anne

taraleec

My LCIS didn't show up on mammo., ultrasound or MRI.

nala24

My LCIS did show up on the MRI.  This was the only imaging technique that showed it.  Last year, after repeat mammograms and ultrasounds, I had a MRI, followed by a MRI guided biopsy, an excisional biopsy, and a resection.  The pathology report identified LCIS.  I had another MRI last week and they identified three areas of enhancement.  The radiologist is going to attempt ultrasound guided biopsies ,but is not optimistic that she will see anything.  She thinks that I will again have to have MRI guided biopsies.

Nala

mizbabygirl4

My LCIS did not show up on two MRIs conducted about 6 months apart. It was not found until I had a prophylactic mastectomy on my "good" side, and the pathology report described it as "extensive."

Janet 

Kimber

Mine showed up as a "suspicious abnormality" on MRI.  Core needle biopsy showed "psuedoangiostromal hyperplasia"  or PASH.  Surgeon wanted to get all of it, so I had an excisional biopsy.  That came back LCIS after being sent to Mayo Clinic.  Oncologist didn't like that it was "multi-focal" so I had a lumpectomy and lost a large apple core size portion of my breast.

Springtime

Hi Orange,

When I was contemplating uni- vs bi-lateral, I talked to my BS a lot about how we would manage the "healthy" breast if I kept it. I wanted to know how often I coulde get an  MRI and the likelihood of her finding DCIS  or LCIS vs IDC ILC. She said the most likely scenario was that the MRI would find invasive cancer, but that it would be very very tiny/early. She felt that MRI could "miss" DCIS LCIS if it was not grade 3? (something like this). after thinking on this for a bit...

I had bi-lateral. 

Spring.

orange1

Thank you ladies.  I appreciate you input.

 I think I may be heading towards a mastectomy for my other breast if I can get insurance to pay for it.

Springtime

Jackie, it is a hard decision for some of us. I tortured myself!!! For me, the final thing was I found a place that would do skin sparing and nipple sparing. After that, I felt okay about Bi-Lat. I have no regrets, never, not once. But it is so very personal. good luck!

Spring.

orange1

Thanks Spring.

floridian

Hello Everyone - 

I have multiple bilateral lumps and thickening. So far with US and digital mammo, they have found: dilated duct with debris, complex cyst, regular cyst possibly something in it, scar from biopsy, another spot that could be a scar or cancer (US), developing density or focal density (mammo) and on biopsy:two fibroadenomas and one thickened area that had duct ectasia, apocrine metaplasia, fibrosis, and adenosis. I have extremely dense breasts.

I'm am really worried because Mom had cancer at 32 and I did not have a single lump two years ago and now I'm filled with them. It seems like this can't be good. Can women become more dense and have more lumps as they get older and have it be normal?

Now I am scheduled for an MRI because of the things they found on the other tests. Does it find things like DCIS and LCIS consistently or just more advanced cancers?

I have three little boys and I want to do everything I can to make sure that I'm around for them. I just don't know what to think about all this. 

Springtime

Hi FLoridian,

I don't know, but you are doing the right thing by getting an MRI. Let us know what you find out. Keep TOTALLY on top of this. If you can nip this in the bud, you will be on of the lucky ones that discovers BC before it is invasive. 75% or more of us discover it and it is already invasive. 

Spring.

leaf

Well, in this Porter study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17206485

in women who ALREADY had LCIS or atypia, MRI did NOT detect ALL cancers.  These numbers are so small that its probably hard to draw any conclusions, but it sounds like in the MRI screened group, 8 cancers were detected (all in LCIS women).  It sounds like 2 out of the 8 cancers were NOT detected by MRI.  Of these 2 women where MRI did NOT detect the cancer, one was a palpable mass, and the other was found incidentally on prophylactic surgery and not detectable by any recent imaging. (I may not be reading the study correctly either.)

But, the perfect breast cancer imaging has yet to be developed, so it seems.

floridian

Hello -  

Thanks for the info. I guess that's what I am wondering. If I have palpable masses that they can't define with testing - what then? They want to watch and wait - 6 months. Sounds like some are found by tests and some are palpable masses - are they supposed to biopsy? They biopsied part of one thickening and came up with all that stuff I mentioned above so I guess they are assuming the rest is the same. They are also making what seem to be errors to me on other stuff. I discovered that one thing they are calling a "scar" is at 12 o clock and the biopsy site is at 1 oclaock.