Abbreviated protocol breast MRI: The past, present, and future.

Breast MRI has been shown to be the most sensitive examination in the detection of breast cancer. However, given the high associated costs, its use in the screening setting has traditionally been limited to those who are at high-risk for breast cancer. Abbreviated protocol breast MRI is capable of reducing the traditional costs associated with breast MRI, while maintaining diagnostic accuracy and cancer detection, and therefore a potential future screening tool for breast cancer in a broader population of women than just those at high-risk. New techniques, such as Ultrafast breast MRI, are able to not only shorten the traditional breast MRI acquisition and interpretation time, but also provide kinetic information.