US-localized diffuse optical tomography in breast cancer: comparison with pharmacokinetic parameters of DCE-MRI and with pathologic biomarkers.

Min Jung Kim,Hee Jung Moon,Min-Ying Su,Jeon-Hor Chen,Hon J Yu,Eun-Kyung Kim,Ji Soo Choi

doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2086-7

Abstract

BackgroundTo correlate parameters of Ultrasonography-guided Diffuse optical tomography (US-DOT) with pharmacokinetic features of Dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-MRI and pathologic markers of breast cancer.MethodsOur institutional review board approved this retrospective study and waived the requirement for informed consent. Thirty seven breast cancer patients received US-DOT and DCE-MRI with less than two weeks in between imaging sessions. The maximal total hemoglobin concentration (THC) measured by US-DOT was correlated with DCE-MRI pharmacokinetic parameters, which included Ktrans, kep and signal enhancement ratio (SER). These imaging parameters were also correlated with the pathologic biomarkers of breast cancer.ResultsThe parameters THC and SER showed marginal positive correlation (r = 0.303, p = 0.058). Tumors with high histological grade, negative ER, and higher Ki-67 expression ≥20 % showed statistically higher THC values compared to their counterparts (p = 0.019, 0.041, and 0.023 respectively). Triple-negative (TN) breast cancers showed statistically higher Ktrans values than non-TN cancers (p = 0.048).ConclusionTHC obtained from US-DOT and Ktrans obtained from DCE-MRI were associated with biomarkers indicative of a higher aggressiveness in breast cancer. Although US-DOT and DCE-MRI both measured the vascular properties of breast cancer, parameters from the two imaging modalities showed a weak association presumably due to their different contrast mechanisms and depth sensitivities.

Highlights

To correlate parameters of Ultrasonography-guided Diffuse optical tomography (US-DOT) with pharmacokinetic features of Dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and pathologic markers of breast cancer
US-DOT and DCE-MRI both measured the vascular properties of breast cancer, parameters from the two imaging modalities showed a weak association presumably due to their different contrast mechanisms and depth sensitivities
The correlation between US-DOT parameter and DCE-MRI parameters Between the total hemoglobin concentration (THC) and DCE-MRI parameters, only THC and signal enhancement ratio (SER) showed a weak correlation with statistically marginal significance (r = 0.303, p = 0.058, Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

To correlate parameters of Ultrasonography-guided Diffuse optical tomography (US-DOT) with pharmacokinetic features of Dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-MRI and pathologic markers of breast cancer. Mammography is a sensitive imaging method for detection of breast cancers [1] and that has contributed to the improvement of the survival rates for breast cancer [2]. Complementary imaging methods have been introduced to identify mammographically occult breast cancers, as well as to differentiate malignant lesions from benign lesions based on the morphologic and physiologic characteristics of breast lesions [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14]. Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) is a suitable breast imaging modality that measures functional characteristics of breast lesions, by using near infrared light to probe tissue optical properties.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion