Internal Mammary Artery Anastomoses in Patients without Breast Lesions (BIRADS 1) and in Patients with Malignant Breast Lesions (BIRADS 6) on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Background: We aimed to compare the frequency of IMA (internal mammarian artery) anastomoses in right and left breasts in patients without breast lesions and in patients with malignant breast lesions.

Material/Methods: A total of 100 patients with no breast lesions and a total of 100 patients with malignant breast lesions were included in the study. The anastomoses of IMA of right and left breasts were evaluated on MIP and post-contrast T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences. Breast MRI scans were read by a radiologist.

Results: In patients with no breast lesions, IMA anastomoses were found in 45% of cases, and in patients with malignant breast lesions, IMA anastomoses were found in 58% cases. In four patients with malignant lesions, ipsilateral IMA was rudimentary, and the lesion was feeding from the contralateral IMA.

Conclusions: No statistically significant difference was found between patients without any breast lesions and patients with malignant breast lesions with respect to the frequency of IMA anastomoses in right and left breasts. The frequencies were higher than expected in both groups.