"Among women with dense breast tissue for whom traditional mammograms are less effective at detecting cancer who request additional screening after a negative mammogram abbreviated breast MRI ABMR may be a valuable cancer detection tool. In a study of  asymptomatic women with dense breast tissue who had a negative mammogram within the previous  months ABMR detected five additional cancers after a negative screening mammography according to preliminary findings from a Penn Medicine team presented this week at the Radiological Society of North America meeting in Chicago.    To put this in perspective the cancer detection rate of mammography is roughly  cancers in  women who have a mammogram. Digital tomosynthesis DBT or D mammography does slightly better detecting approximately  percent more cancers or roughly  cancers in  women screened. Based on the preliminary results at Penn Medicine the cancer detection rate of ABMR screening is  cancers per  patients. One in eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer at some point during their life.    Having dense breast tissue makes it more difficult to detect a cancer on a mammogram said the studys lead author Susan Weinstein MD an associate professor of Radiology and the director of breast MRI at Penn Medicine. Based on the literature and our results women with dense breast tissue who desire supplemental screening these results suggest that ABMR may be a better option than other supplemental screening tests such as whole breast ultrasound.    The most common exam offered for asymptomatic patients seeking supplemental screening is a whole breast screening ultrasound examination. However screening ultrasound examinations have higher rates of false positives meaning more cases of positive screenings where no cancer is present.    Based on the results from Penns study the ABMR may be a better option. American Cancer Society guidelines currently recommend a full breast MRI not an ABMR in women who based on family history of breast or ovarian cancer andor previous treatment for Hodgkin disease have a  to  percent or greater lifetime risk of breast cancer.        In addition to Weinstein additional authors include Mitchell D. Schnall Elizabeth S. McDonald Alice Chong and Emily F. Conant.    Penn Medicine is one of the worlds leading academic medical centers dedicated to the related missions of medical education biomedical research and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania founded in  as the nations first medical school and the University of Pennsylvania Health System which together form a . billion enterprise.    The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past  years according to U.S. News  World Reports survey of researchoriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nations top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health with  million awarded in the  fiscal year.    The University of Pennsylvania Health Systems patient care facilities include The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center  which are recognized as one of the nations top Honor Roll hospitals by U.S. News  World Report  Chester County Hospital Lancaster General Health Penn Wissahickon Hospice and Pennsylvania Hospital  the nations first hospital founded in . Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Good Shepherd Penn Partners a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine.    Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of communitybased programs and activities. In fiscal year  Penn Medicine provided  million to benefit our community."