Clinical Value of Breast High-Resolution MR Ductography in Patients With Pathological Nipple Discharge

Overview

Nipple discharge is one of the common symptoms of breast disease patients. Nipple discharge can be divided into physiological and pathological nipple discharge (PND). Among patients with PND symptoms who undergo biopsy, 5%-21% of them are malignant, and the risk of malignancy increases with age. The primary diagnostic imaging methods for PND patients include mammography and breast ultrasound. Nearly half of PND patients who undergo traditional mammography and ultrasound examination have negative findings, but this does not rule out the presence of malignant lesions. Central duct excision is the gold standard for PND diagnosis, but invasive surgery without imaging guidance can lead to some complications. Magnetic Resonance Ductography (MRD), which uses water imaging technology to visualize the inside of the duct without contrast injection, can show imaging features of ductal lesions such as filling defects, irregularities of duct walls, and ductal obstruction. However, previous studies have shown that the signal-to-noise ratio of MRD images needs to be improved. Microscopy coil has the characteristics of small voxels and high spatial resolution, making it suitable for high signal-to-noise ratio imaging of small superficial structures. This provides a hardware foundation for improving the quality of MRD images. Therefore, in this study, the investigators aim to use the 3T MR instrument and microscopy coil to perform non-invasive high-resolution Magnetic Resonance Ductography (HR-MRD) on PND patients to evaluate the ability of HR-MRD to detect PND causes and the imaging features of duct-related lesions on HR-MRD, to assist in the accurate diagnosis and treatment of PND.

Conditions