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MRI is excellent for looking at scar tissue. MRI is able to distinguish between scar tissue and recurrent tumors. Therefore, breast MRI can evaluate a significant change in the lumpectomy site. It can determine how much cancer has spread beyond the surgical site after a breast biopsy or lumpectomy.
Breast MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is a test that should not be used to distinguish between benign (noncancerous) and malignant (cancerous) areas, in lieu of a breast biopsy. Due to false positive results, performing this test may increase the number of breast biopsies that need to be performed. Although MRI may detect tumors in dense breast tissue, the presence of dense breast tissue is not a reason to have a breast MRI scan.