Nation IN BRIEF : ILLINOIS : New Breast Scan Finds More Tumors

A magnetic-resonance imaging technique that scans the breast but blocks out fatty tissue can detect cancers that standard mammograms may miss, scientists told the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago. The new scan may make it easier to decide whether a patient should have a mastectomy or less radical surgery, said researchers from Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. Steven Harms, director of the program, said that in a study group of 56 women, magnetic resonance detected nearly twice as many lesions as regular mammograms, and of these, 52% more were shown to be cancerous on the second examination.