Investigation of the relationship between background parenchymal enhancement and breast cancer using 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging.

[AIM] This study aims to explore the correlation between background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) observed in breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the presence of breast cancer.

[MATERIALS AND METHODS] A total of 761 patients (326 malignant, 435 benign) who underwent breast MRI on a 3 T MRI device between August 2019 and August 2022 were included in the study. In breast MRI, the rate of fibroglandular tissue (FGT), areas of mass/non-mass enhancement in malignant cases, and BPE in the initial post-contrast series were evaluated. In addition to the clinical and demographic data of the patients, pathology results were added to the dataset. Molecular subtyping was categorized based on immunohistochemical markers into Luminal-A, Luminal-B (HER-2 negative), Luminal-B (HER-2 positive), HER-2 positive, and triple-negative groups.

[RESULTS] In the evaluation of BPE, minimal-to-mild enhancement was more common in both groups. No significant relationship was observed between BPE and menstrual cycle timing, cancer association, lesion characteristics, and pathological results. No significant intergroup difference was observed between FGT and BPE in the malignant and benign groups. The mean age of patients with moderate-to-marked background enhancement was significantly lower (p = 0.036). When the relationships between background enhancement and other descriptive features were evaluated, no statistically significant relationship was found.

[CONCLUSION] The findings of our study suggest that BPE in breast MRI is not a determining factor in the diagnosis of breast cancer in patients with average or low risk.