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Monitoring neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients: Improved MR assessment at 3 T?
Author(s) -
Heldahl Mariann G.,
Lundgren Steinar,
Jensen Line R.,
Gribbestad Ingrid S.,
Bathen Tone F.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.22642
Subject(s) - breast cancer , medicine , magnetic resonance imaging , chemotherapy , nuclear medicine , cancer , neoadjuvant therapy , dynamic contrast , breast mri , radiology , oncology , mammography
Purpose: To investigate possible improvements in predicting the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) at 3 T for locally advanced breast cancer (LABC). Materials and Methods: Dynamic contrast‐enhanced magnetic resonance (DCE‐MR) images acquired before and during NAC were retrospectively analyzed in 85 patients. Tumor volume and diameter, three volumes based on the shape of the enhancement curve, relative signal intensity, area under the curve, and the signal‐to‐noise ratio were extracted. Differences between responders and nonresponders at the same and between MR timepoints during treatment were evaluated. Results: A higher signal‐to‐noise ratio was observed on 3 T images compared to 1.5 T, and 3 T revealed more significant findings related to response compared to 1.5 T. The DCE‐MRI‐derived volume parameters were the earliest predictors of response at both 1.5 and 3 T. Conclusion: Our results show that 3 T provides an improved assessment of the response to NAC in LABC patients, where the MR determined tumor volume reduction before the second cycle of NAC was the strongest and earliest predictor of a response. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2011;. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.