Sacred Heart Health System in Pensacola has recently purchased a state-of-the-art breast-dedicated magnetic resonance (MRI) imaging system to provide the most accurate breast imaging to its patients. The new imaging system is part of a $3 million expansion of the Ann L. Baroco Center for Breast Health and is set to open in late October 2008. It is the only dedicated breast MRI in the Pensacola area.

The new $2 million MR system from GE Healthcare delivers highly-detailed images of the breast and its surrounding tissues.

"This new technology has the potential to be a tremendous benefit to the women of the Gulf Coast , particularly those patients who have been newly-diagnosed with breast cancer or have a genetic predisposition to develop breast cancer," says Dr. Clark Pollitt, a board-certified radiologist with the Ann L. Baroco Center for Breast Health.

Unlike other MRI machines in the area that have a removable breast imaging coil, this new system is dedicated solely to the imaging of the breast and is the only machine of its kind in the region. Because it is designed specifically for a woman's body, the coils can adjust for all sizes of breasts up to a FF, can image up to 50% more breast tissue including the chest wall, and can offer far superior biopsy access than traditional MRI-guided techniques.

The new breast MRI will mainly be used for patients who:
. Have an extensive family history of breast cancer
. Have been diagnosed with breast cancer
. Have a breast lump or breast change after surgery that is not detectable by a mammogram
. Have had breast cancer surgery in the last 10 years
. Have a suspected leak or rupture of a breast implant
. Have cancer in one breast to see if there is cancer in the opposite breast

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the breast is a breast imaging technique that captures multiple cross-sectional pictures of the breast and, through the use of a computer, to generate detailed 2-D and 3-D pictures.

Since 1986, the Ann L. Baroco Center for Breast Health has been providing quality, compassionate care to thousands of patients across the Gulf Coast. It is the area's only dedicated center for breast health for the early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer.

For more information on the Ann L. Baroco Center for Breast Health at Sacred Heart, please call (850) 416-8078 or visit our website at http://www.sacred-heart.org/.

Sidebar:

American Cancer Society Breast MRI Guidelines

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), women at high should get an MRI and a mammogram every year. Women at moderately increased should talk with their doctors about the benefits and limitations of adding MRI screening to their yearly mammogram. Yearly MRI screening is not recommended for women with a low lifetime risk of breast cancer.

Women at high risk include those who:

• Have a known BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation
• Have a first-degree relative (parent, brother, sister, or child) with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, and have not had genetic testing themselves
• Have a lifetime risk of breast cancer of 20% to 25% or greater, according to risk assessment tools that are based mainly on family history (see below)
• Had radiation therapy to the chest when they were between the ages of 10 and 30 years
• Have Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Cowden syndrome, or Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome, or have one of these syndromes in first-degree relatives

For most women at high risk, screening with MRI and mammograms should begin at age 30 years and continue for as long as a woman is in good health. But because the evidence is limited regarding the best age at which to start screening, this decision should be based on shared decision making between patients and their health care providers, taking into account personal circumstances and preferences.

It is recommended that women who get a screening MRI do so at a facility that can do an MRI-guided breast biopsy at the same time if needed. Otherwise, the woman will have to have a second MRI exam at another facility at the time of biopsy.