Dear MRI Insider,
I was doing a little prewinter cleaning when I came across a videotape of a 2003 local news show. The piece was an interview with Dr. Craig Bittner, just after he'd opened another AmeriScan center in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the segment, Bittner was extolling the virtues of breast MRI, confidently enthusing that MRI was the most accurate technology available for the early detection of breast cancer.
That was just one of many far-reaching claims that AmeriScan made when it hawked its fee-for-service screening programs to the public -- claims that didn't sit well with the imaging community or the legal community. The San Francisco District Attorney's Office and the California medical board eventually sued the company for false advertising (San Francisco Chronicle, October 24, 2003).
By November 2003, AmeriScan was history. Fortunately, breast MRI did not fade away with Bittner and company. Instead, the modality has continued to prove its mettle thanks to steady research initiatives. In our MRI Insider Exclusive, we round up several studies on the role of MR in dense breasts, cancer staging, lesion follow-up, and lesion morphology. To read more, click here.
In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, you'll also find a hot-off-the-press Radiology report on the characteristics of breast MR in lactating women.
Beyond the breast, visit the MRI Digital Community for articles on cardiac fetal imaging, MR in infectious disease, and, finally, another fine commentary from Junk Architects on MRI safety concerns.
