BACKGROUND: The goals of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) are to reduce tumor volume and to offer a prognostic indicator in assessing treatment response. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI) is an established method for evaluating response to NAC in patients with breast cancer. PURPOSE: To validate the role of unenhanced MRI (ue-MRI) compared to CE-MRI for assessing response to NAC in women with breast cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Seventy-one patients with ongoing NAC for breast cancer underwent MRI before, during, and at the end of NAC. Ue-MRI was performed with T2-weighted sequences with iterative decomposition of water and fat and diffusion-weighted sequences. CE-MRI was performed using three-dimensional T1-weighted sequences before and after administration of gadobenate dimeglumine. Two blinded observers rated ue-MRI and CE-MRI for the evaluation of tumor response. Statistical analysis was performed to compare lesion size and ADC values changes during therapy, as well as inter-observer agreement. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between ue-MRI and CE-MRI sequences for evaluation of lesion size at baseline and after every cycle of treatment ( P > 0.05). The mean tumor ADC values at baseline and across the cycles of NAC were significantly different for the responder group. CONCLUSION: Ue-MRI can achieve similar results to CE-MRI for the assessment of tumor response to NAC. ADC values can differentiate responders from non-responders.
BACKGROUND: The goals of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) are to reduce tumor volume and to offer a prognostic indicator in assessing treatment response. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI) is an established method for evaluating response to NAC in patients with breast cancer. PURPOSE: To validate the role of unenhanced MRI (ue-MRI) compared to CE-MRI for assessing response to NAC in women with breast cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Seventy-one patients with ongoing NAC for breast cancer underwent MRI before, during, and at the end of NAC. Ue-MRI was performed with T2-weighted sequences with iterative decomposition of water and fat and diffusion-weighted sequences. CE-MRI was performed using three-dimensional T1-weighted sequences before and after administration of gadobenate dimeglumine. Two blinded observers rated ue-MRI and CE-MRI for the evaluation of tumor response. Statistical analysis was performed to compare lesion size and ADC values changes during therapy, as well as inter-observer agreement. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between ue-MRI and CE-MRI sequences for evaluation of lesion size at baseline and after every cycle of treatment ( P > 0.05). The mean tumor ADC values at baseline and across the cycles of NAC were significantly different for the responder group. CONCLUSION: Ue-MRI can achieve similar results to CE-MRI for the assessment of tumor response to NAC. ADC values can differentiate responders from non-responders.
Entities:
Keywords:
Breast neoplasms; MRI; chemotherapy; magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Carmen Herrero Vicent; Xavier Tudela; Paula Moreno Ruiz; Víctor Pedralva; Ana Jiménez Pastor; Daniel Ahicart; Silvia Rubio Novella; Isabel Meneu; Ángela Montes Albuixech; Miguel Ángel Santamaria; María Fonfria; Almudena Fuster-Matanzo; Santiago Olmos Antón; Eduardo Martínez de Dueñas Journal: Cancers (Basel) Date: 2022-07-19 Impact factor: 6.575