A new study suggests that among women with extremely dense breasts, screening with MRI alone every 4 years appears to be cost-effective and provides the greatest benefit.

The findings also suggest that alternatively, screening mammography may be done every 2 years, with MRI screening offered for the second 2-year interval. Researchers noted that screening every 2 years using mammography alone cost the least of the strategies assessed, but led to the lowest number of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), which means it was associated with the least amount of benefit for patients. Doing an additional MRI every 2 years was tied to highest costs but not the highest number of QALYs. Additionally, it appeared to be inferior to other screening strategies evaluated. Alternating mammography with MRI screening, each conducted every 2 years, appeared to yield the same benefits as MRI screening offered every 4 years. 

On applying the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) threshold, MRI screening every 4 years was tied to the highest acceptable incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). The findings are published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute… (Medscape)