Fusion of contrast-enhanced breast MR and mammographic imaging data.

Increasing use is being made of Gd-DTPA contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for breast cancer assessment since it provides 3D functional information via pharmacokinetic interaction between contrast agent and tumour vascularity, and because it is applicable to women of all ages as well as patients with post-operative scarring. Contrast-enhanced MRI (CE-MRI) is complementary to conventional X-ray mammography, since it is a relatively low-resolution functional counterpart of a comparatively high-resolution 2D structural representation. However, despite the additional information provided by MRI, mammography is still an extremely important diagnostic imaging modality, particularly for several common conditions such as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) where it has been shown that there is a strong correlation between microcalcification clusters and malignancy.