Linda J. Hovanessian Larsen, MD

Dr. Linda Hovanessian Larsen was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. After graduating from USC Keck School of Medicine, Dr. Larsen completed her residency training in Diagnostic Radiology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and her fellowship training at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami, Florida.
She began working as an Assistant Professor in Radiology at the University of Miami Medical Center, specializing in breast imaging. In 1998, she and her family moved back to Los Angeles, and she joined the faculty of the USC Keck School of Medicine, Department of Radiology (DOR).
Dr. Larsen soon became the Director of Mammography for the LAC+USC Medical Center. She has always advocated the multidisciplinary team approach to patient care and has worked closely with the breast surgeons, oncologists, and pathologists to provide high-quality, equitable healthcare for the community.
In 2003, Dr. Larsen became the Chief of Women’s Imaging (now Breast Imaging). She currently oversees the Norris Breast Center, Verdugo Hills Breast Center, and LAC+USC County Mammography.
Dr. Larsen has served on administrative and clinical committees for the DOR, and has spearheaded many of the Breast Imaging research projects. She incorporated the USC DOR into the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN), which is a national multicenter organization supported in part by the National Cancer Institute.
Dr. Larsen’s main area of research concentrates on innovative breast imaging techniques, including digital breast tomosynthesis, automated whole breast ultrasound, and contrast enhanced breast ultrasound. She has received grant awards from the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the Whittier Foundation, and participates in NCI-ACRIN, I-SPY 2, and SWOG multicenter trials. Her most rewarding project was an NIH funded grant for the Susan Love foundation, which evaluated a low-cost ultrasound device used to triage palpable breast lumps in women living in low income countries that do not readily have access to healthcare.
Dr. Larsen is a recognized leader in the field of breast imaging, lecturing locally and nationally on breast cancer screening, diagnosis, and advanced imaging techniques. She enjoys reaching out to women in the community and educating them about the best tools available for early detection of breast cancer. However, by far, her most favorite teaching involves medical students, residents, and fellows on the clinical service. She believes the diverse patient populations and clinical experiences at LAC+USC Mammography and the Norris Breast Center together provide an unparalleled foundation for an outstanding education in breast imaging.

• Addressing ethnic disparities in imaging utilization and clinical outcomes for COVID-19 Clin Imaging. 2021 Sep; 77:276-282. . View in PubMed
• Factors associated with MRI detection of occult lesions in newly diagnosed breast cancers J Surg Oncol. 2020 Mar; 121(4):589-598. . View in PubMed
• Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging of Breast Masses: Adjunct Tool to Decrease the Number of False-Positive Biopsy Results J Ultrasound Med. 2019 Sep; 38(9):2259-2273. . View in PubMed
• Clinical findings and outcomes of MRI staging of breast cancer in a diverse population Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2019 Apr; 174(2):315-324. . View in PubMed
• Accuracy of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Compared With Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Assessing the Tumor Response After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer J Ultrasound Med. 2017 May; 36(5):901-911. . View in PubMed
• ED breast cases and other breast emergencies Emerg Radiol. 2016 Feb; 23(1):67-77. . View in PubMed
• Modified Bi-Rads Scoring of Breast Imaging Findings Improves Clinical Judgment Breast J. 2015 Nov-Dec; 21(6):642-50. . View in PubMed
• A Phase II Study of 3′-Deoxy-3′-18F-Fluorothymidine PET in the Assessment of Early Response of Breast Cancer to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: Results from ACRIN 6688 J Nucl Med. 2015 Nov; 56(11):1681-9. . View in PubMed
• High-frequency ultrasound imaging for breast cancer biopsy guidance J Med Imaging (Bellingham). 2015 Oct; 2(4):047001. . View in PubMed
• Double-Blind Randomized 12-Month Soy Intervention Had No Effects on Breast MRI Fibroglandular Tissue Density or Mammographic Density Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2015 Oct; 8(10):942-51. . View in PubMed
• Malignancy rates after surgical excision of discordant breast biopsies J Surg Res. 2015 May 01; 195(1):152-7. . View in PubMed
• The role of axillary ultrasound in the detection of metastases from primary breast cancers Am J Surg. 2013 Mar; 205(3):242-4; discussion 244-5. . View in PubMed
• Lowering oral contraceptive norethindrone dose increases estrogen and progesterone receptor levels with no reduction in proliferation of breast epithelium: a randomized trial Contraception. 2012 Sep; 86(3):238-43. . View in PubMed
• Detection of breast cancer with addition of annual screening ultrasound or a single screening MRI to mammography in women with elevated breast cancer risk JAMA. 2012 Apr 04; 307(13):1394-404. . View in PubMed
• Breast epithelial cell proliferation is markedly increased with short-term high levels of endogenous estrogen secondary to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2012 Apr; 132(2):653-60. . View in PubMed
• Shear-wave elastography improves the specificity of breast US: the BE1 multinational study of 939 masses Radiology. 2012 Feb; 262(2):435-49. . View in PubMed
• Breast cancer: comparative effectiveness of positron emission mammography and MR imaging in presurgical planning for the ipsilateral breast Radiology. 2011 Jan; 258(1):59-72. . View in PubMed
• Reasons women at elevated risk of breast cancer refuse breast MR imaging screening: ACRIN 6666 Radiology. 2010 Jan; 254(1):79-87. . View in PubMed
• Progesterone and estrogen receptors in pregnant and premenopausal non-pregnant normal human breast Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2009 Nov; 118(1):161-8. . View in PubMed
• Granulomatous lobular mastitis: imaging, diagnosis, and treatment AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2009 Aug; 193(2):574-81. . View in PubMed
• Combined screening with ultrasound and mammography vs mammography alone in women at elevated risk of breast cancer JAMA. 2008 May 14; 299(18):2151-63. . View in PubMed
• Differentiation of cancerous lesions in excised human breast specimens using multiband attenuation profiles from ultrasonic transmission tomography J Ultrasound Med. 2008 Mar; 27(3):435-51. . View in PubMed
• Imaging characteristics of malignant lesions of the male breast Radiographics. 2006 Jul-Aug; 26(4):993-1006. . View in PubMed
• Greatly increased occurrence of breast cancers in areas of mammographically dense tissue Breast Cancer Res. 2005; 7(5):R605-8. . View in PubMed
• Retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma: MR findings Magn Reson Imaging. 1990; 8(1):91-3. . View in PubMed
• Central and renal hemodynamic effects of a new agonist at peripheral dopamine- and beta-2 adrenoreceptors (dopexamine) in patients with heart failure Am Heart J. 1989 Mar; 117(3):607-14. . View in PubMed

• Stanczyk, Frank
• Haiman, Christopher
• Nayak, Krishna
• Wu-Williams, Anna
• Matsuo, Koji
• Toga, Arthur
• Ulaner, Gary
• Grant, Edward