breast MRI

Hi-
During the past yr, I was diagnosed with stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma.  It was a 2 cm tumor which did not show on my mammo even tho' it was a visible lump on the side of my breast--at 51 yrs of age, I still have "extremely dense" breast tissue according to radiologists.  Lumpectomy, four rounds of AC chemo and 6 wks of radiation were completed by this past fall.  Right after Xmas I had bilateral breast MRI done by well known hospital.  The results indicated no evidence of malignancy (thank goodness) but did have "numerous scattered small areas of enhancement".  It also stated "any decision to biopsy at this time should be based upon clinical assessment".  I am alright with holding off on biopsies at this time.  My question is:  given these results and my history, would it be wise for me to have breast MRIs every three yrs or so on a routine basis since my yrly mammo may not catch future tumors??  Thanks in advance for your advice!

[CCF-RN,MSN-rf]

Dear vermontgal:  The use of MRI in breast cancer has primarily been in planning for breast conservation surgery.  Although it has been used to attempt to identify breast cancers, it is not foolproof and has a reasonable incidence of both false positive and false negative results.  It is not good as a screening test.  It's too expensive, too hard to do, and not accurate enough.  In other words, there's no evidence that this will prove more accurate than the MRI.  You should discuss this with your doctor.  Unfortunatly, there is no clear answer to this question.