An annual MRI scan detected all incident breast cancers in younger women at high familial risk screened while attending a special risk management clinic, Melbourne researchers say.

In their study, they reported outcomes for 511 women with either a BRCA mutation or strong personal family history attending the breast and ovarian cancer risk management clinic at the Royal Melbourne Hospital between 2010 and 2018.

The women who were aged between 25 and 49 had annual clinical breast examination, breast ultrasound, Medicare-funded breast MRI and the addition of annual mammograms from age 30.

And women older than 50 had the same screening procedure with the exception of the Medicare-funded breast MRI — although the option of self-funding an MRI scan was given, the authors wrote.