Emerging Areas in Breast Cancer Diagnosis Research

The tools below are under study for use in breast cancer diagnosis. They may give information that can help guide treatment. These topics are still under study and more research is needed to learn whether or not they will become part of care.

Breast MRI

Breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses magnetic fields to create images of the breast.

There’s growing interest in breast MRI as a tool to help in the diagnosis and staging of breast cancer.

Learn about breast MRI and breast cancer screening.

Learn about abbreviated breast MRI (fast MRI), an emerging area in breast cancer screening.

Breast MRI for surgical planning

Although controversial, breast MRI is sometimes used to help decide whether a person should have a mastectomy or a lumpectomy.

Breast MRI can find small tumors in the breast that may be missed by a mammogram. Some health care providers use breast MRI before surgery to see how widely the cancer appears to have spread in the breast.

Using breast MRI in this way is controversial because it’s not clear if the small masses found on an MRI would be more effectively treated with a mastectomy or with a lumpectomy plus radiation therapy [14,82-83].

Studies have shown women who have a breast MRI before surgery are more likely to have a mastectomy instead of a lumpectomy plus radiation therapy [84-89]. Based on the breast MRI images, women chose a mastectomy although it may not have been a better option.

A meta-analysis that combined the results of 4 studies showed using breast MRI before surgery to make treatment decisions did not lower the risk of breast cancer recurrence (a return of breast cancer) [82].

This means women chose a mastectomy over a lumpectomy based on breast MRI results when a lumpectomy plus radiation therapy would have been an equally good (and less invasive) option. So, having a breast MRI before surgery may lead to more mastectomies with no added treatment benefit.

A risk-reducing contralateral mastectomy (contralateral prophylactic mastectomy) removes the opposite (contralateral) healthy breast in a person who has breast cancer in only one breast. Some findings also show women who have breast MRI before surgery are more likely to have a risk-reducing contralateral mastectomy, although there’s no proven benefit of having this surgery [87,90].

Talk with your health care provider if you have any questions about the benefits and risks of using breast MRI to plan your treatment.

Positron emission tomography (PET)

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a test that shows how much sugar is consumed by cells. Cancer cells tend to consume more sugar than normal cells. This can help identify tumors.

With PET, a short-term radioactive sugar is injected into the body. The cancer cells can then be imaged with a special camera.

PET is used to find metastases (cancer that has spread beyond the breast and nearby lymph nodes to other organs, such as the bones, lungs, liver and brain).

PET is under study for use in breast cancer staging and for finding cancer that has spread to the axillary lymph nodes (the lymph nodes in the underarm area) [91].

Visit the Society of Nuclear Medicine website for more information on PET.

Molecular subtypes of breast cancer

Molecular subtypes of breast cancer are used mostly in research settings and are not part of a standard breast cancer diagnosis. This information is not included in pathology reports.

However, the molecular and genetic differences among breast cancers may be useful in guiding treatment.

Most research studies divide breast cancer into 4 main molecular subtypes:

Luminal A
Luminal B
Basal-like/triple negative
HER2-enriched

Treatment decisions are mainly guided by tumor stage, hormone receptor status and HER2 status. These factors are also related to survival.

Learn more about the molecular subtypes of breast cancer.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is under study for use in breast cancer diagnosis. AI computer models can be trained from pathology images and radiology images (such as mammograms) for use in diagnosing breast cancer.

For example, AI can learn from pathology images how to identify breast cancer cells and how to assess features of breast cancer cells, such as hormone receptor status and HER2 status [104]. Some findings show AI can help improve cancer detection rates and help pathologists reduce their workload [104-105].

The use of AI in breast cancer diagnosis is under study and is not part of standard care today.

Our commitment to research

At Susan G. Komen^®, we are committed to saving lives by meeting the most critical needs in our communities and investing in breakthrough research to prevent and cure breast cancer. Our Research Program is an essential driving force for achieving this mission.

Since our inception in 1982, Komen has provided funding to support research grants that have greatly expanded our knowledge of breast cancer and helped us understand that breast cancer is not just a single disease but many diseases, unique to each individual.

To date, Komen has provided nearly $1.1 billion to researchers in 47 states, the District of Columbia and 24 countries to support research that has resulted in a better understanding of breast cancer; earlier detection; personalized, less invasive treatments for what was once a “one-treatment-fits-all” disease; and improvements in both quality of life and survival rates.

Learn more about our continuing investment in research and the exciting research that we are funding, because nothing would make us happier than ending breast cancer forever.

Updated 03/18/25

This content is regularly reviewed by an expert panel including researchers, practicing clinicians and patient advocates.