Rachelle Crescenzi1,2, Paula M C Donahue3,4, Maria Garza5,6, Chelsea A Lee7, Niral J Patel7, Victoria Gonzalez8, R Sky Jones7, Manus J Donahue5,6,9. 1. Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. rachelle.crescenzi@vumc.org. 2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. rachelle.crescenzi@vumc.org. 3. Dayani Center for Health and Wellness, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. 4. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. 5. Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. 6. Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. 7. Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. 8. School of Medicine, The City College of New York, New York, NY, USA. 9. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Breast cancer treatment-related lymphedema (BCRL) is a common co-morbidity of breast cancer therapies, yet factors that contribute to BCRL progression remain incompletely characterized. We investigated whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of subcutaneous adipose tissue were uniquely elevated in women with BCRL. METHODS: MRI at 3.0 T of upper extremity and torso anatomy, fat and muscle tissue composition, and T2 relaxometry were applied in left and right axillae of healthy control (n = 24) and symptomatic BCRL (n = 22) participants to test the primary hypothesis that fat-to-muscle volume fraction is elevated in symptomatic BCRL relative to healthy participants, and the secondary hypothesis that fat-to-muscle volume fraction is correlated with MR relaxometry of affected tissues and BCRL stage (significance criterion: two-sided p < 0.05). RESULTS: Fat-to-muscle volume fraction in healthy participants was symmetric in the right and left sides (p = 0.51); in BCRL participants matched for age, sex, and BMI, fat-to-muscle volume fraction was elevated on the affected side (fraction = 0.732 ± 0.184) versus right and left side in controls (fraction = 0.545 ± 0.221, p < 0.001). Fat-to-muscle volume fraction directly correlated with muscle T2 (p = 0.046) and increased with increasing level of BCRL stage (p = 0.041). CONCLUSION: Adiposity quantified by MRI is elevated in the affected upper extremity of women with BCRL and may provide a surrogate marker of condition onset or severity. CLINICAL TRIAL: NCT02611557.
PURPOSE: Breast cancer treatment-related lymphedema (BCRL) is a common co-morbidity of breast cancer therapies, yet factors that contribute to BCRL progression remain incompletely characterized. We investigated whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of subcutaneous adipose tissue were uniquely elevated in women with BCRL. METHODS: MRI at 3.0 T of upper extremity and torso anatomy, fat and muscle tissue composition, and T2 relaxometry were applied in left and right axillae of healthy control (n = 24) and symptomatic BCRL (n = 22) participants to test the primary hypothesis that fat-to-muscle volume fraction is elevated in symptomatic BCRL relative to healthy participants, and the secondary hypothesis that fat-to-muscle volume fraction is correlated with MR relaxometry of affected tissues and BCRL stage (significance criterion: two-sided p < 0.05). RESULTS: Fat-to-muscle volume fraction in healthy participants was symmetric in the right and left sides (p = 0.51); in BCRL participants matched for age, sex, and BMI, fat-to-muscle volume fraction was elevated on the affected side (fraction = 0.732 ± 0.184) versus right and left side in controls (fraction = 0.545 ± 0.221, p < 0.001). Fat-to-muscle volume fraction directly correlated with muscle T2 (p = 0.046) and increased with increasing level of BCRL stage (p = 0.041). CONCLUSION: Adiposity quantified by MRI is elevated in the affected upper extremity of women with BCRL and may provide a surrogate marker of condition onset or severity. CLINICAL TRIAL: NCT02611557.
Authors: Anna Michelotti; Marco Invernizzi; Gianluca Lopez; Daniele Lorenzini; Francesco Nesa; Alessandro De Sire; Nicola Fusco Journal: Breast Date: 2018-12-17 Impact factor: 4.380
Authors: Rachelle Crescenzi; Paula M C Donahue; Helen Mahany; Sarah K Lants; Manus J Donahue Journal: Magn Reson Med Date: 2019-10-21 Impact factor: 4.668
Authors: Paula M C Donahue; Rachelle Crescenzi; Allison O Scott; Vaughn Braxton; Aditi Desai; Seth A Smith; John Jordi; Ingrid M Meszoely; Ana M Grau; Rondi M Kauffmann; Raeshell S Sweeting; Kandace Spotanski; Sheila H Ridner; Manus J Donahue Journal: Lymphat Res Biol Date: 2017-03 Impact factor: 2.589
Authors: Stanley G Rockson; John P Cooke; Ngan F Huang; Catarina Hadamitzky; Tatiana S Zaitseva; Magdalena Bazalova-Carter; Michael V Paukshto; Luqia Hou; Zachary Strassberg; James Ferguson; Yuka Matsuura; Rajesh Dash; Phillip C Yang; Shura Kretchetov; Peter M Vogt Journal: Biomaterials Date: 2016-06-07 Impact factor: 12.479
Authors: Bailey H Duhon; Thien T Phan; Shannon L Taylor; Rachelle L Crescenzi; Joseph M Rutkowski Journal: Int J Mol Sci Date: 2022-06-14 Impact factor: 6.208