Critical role of spatial resolution in dynamic contrast-enhanced breast MRI

The spatial resolution of three‐dimensional (3D) gradient‐echo T1‐weighted images, from 40 women with 25 malignant and 23 benign lesions, was purposely degraded to determine the role of spatial resolution in recording, analysis, and diagnosis of dynamic contrast‐enhanced breast MRI. Images were recorded and analyzed at pixel resolution according to the 3TP method (Degani et al., Nat Med 1997;3:780–782). Reduction in spatial resolution degraded the appearance of foci with fast wash‐in and fast washout dynamics. This resulted in an increase in false‐negative diagnoses. The sensitivity for differentiating between malignant and benign lesions, using threshold criteria defined by the 3TP analysis, of 76% decreased to 60% and 24% for a 2‐ and 4‐fold reduction in spatial resolution, respectively, without affecting significantly the high specificity (96–100%). In order to minimize false‐negative diagnoses of contrast‐enhanced breast MRI and maintain high specificity, it is essential to record and analyze the dynamic behavior at high spatial resolution. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2001;13:862–867. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.