Women with dense breast tissue could soon get MRI scans to spot tumors earlier

Women with very dense breast tissue should be eligible for an MRI scan. According to researchers from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), this is feasible “if carefully organized.” They emphasized in their advice to the Ministry of Health that sufficient staff and MRI machines must remain available for other medical examinations.

Women between 50 and 75 years old are eligible for population screening to detect breast cancer as early as possible. Standard screening is conducted every two years using a mammogram. In 5 to 8 percent of women, breast tissue is very dense, making tumors harder to detect. In such cases, MRI scans provide a solution.

Caretaker State Secretary for Prevention, Judith Tielen, said she wants to introduce the additional scans “as soon as possible.” She acknowledged that the RIVM report raises “some difficult choices” about the program’s structure and the frequency of scans for women with dense breast tissue. Tielen plans to provide further details by early November.

“There is now definitely a major breakthrough coming for these women,” she said, adding that it is “painful” it took years to achieve and that implementation will still take time.

The RIVM recommends incorporating MRI scans into the population screening program, to be conducted in hospitals and independent treatment centers, a process expected to take four to five years. The Breast Cancer Association considers this “unacceptable” and is pushing for a quicker rollout.