E1449. Molecular Breast Imaging: An Educational Exhibit
Authors
Katherine Smith;
Mayo Clinic
Carrie Hruska;
Mayo Clinic
Amy Conners;
Mayo Clinic
Katie Hunt;
Mayo Clinic
Background
Molecular breast imaging (MBI) is a nuclear medicine examination that uses a radiotracer (Tc99m-sestamibi) to identify metabolically active areas of the breast. Images are acquired with a specialized gamma camera with positioning analogous to conventional mammography. This examination has a high sensitivity (95%) and specificity (80%) for detecting malignancy. MBI can be used for several indications, including supplemental screening in women with dense breast tissue on mammography, patients with a contraindication to MRI, evaluation of extent of disease in newly diagnosed breast cancer, and assessment of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Educational Goals / Teaching Points
MBI is a relatively niche modality in the field of breast imaging, with only 30 - 40 practices currently offering MBI in the United States. For this reason, many diagnostic radiologists and radiology trainees are unfamiliar with the clinical utility of MBI and are not trained on how to interpret these examinations. We present an educational exhibit that aims to describe this modality to radiology trainees and to radiologists who interpret breast imaging as part of their clinical practice.
Key Anatomic/Physiologic Issues and Imaging Findings/Techniques
This exhibit will include an overview of the history and development of MBI, which underwent multiple iterations since its inception as scintimammography. We will briefly discuss the technical acquisition of MBI, which may be unfamiliar to interpreting physicians. The bulk of this presentation, however, will consist of an image-rich case-based review exploring the different clinical indications of MBI as well as the multitude of findings that can be identified on this modality. Finally, we will discuss MBI-guided biopsy, which is an emerging technology in clinical practice.
Conclusion
The goals of this presentation are to introduce this modality to those who do not currently perform these examinations and to provide a more advanced knowledge base to those who do regularly perform this examination.
