The value of radiomics based on contrast-enhanced spectral mammography of internal and peripheral regions combined with clinical factors in predicting benign and malignant breast lesions of breast imaging reporting and data system category 4 / 中华放射学杂志

Objective:To evaluate the value of radiomics based on contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) of internal and peripheral regions combined with clinical factors in predicting benign and malignant breast lesions of breast imaging reporting and data system category 4 (BI-RADS 4).Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical and imaging data of patients with breast lesions who were treated in Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital (Center 1) Affiliated to Qingdao University from July 2017 to July 2020 and in Fudan University Cancer Hospital (Center 2) from June 2019 to July 2020. Center 1 included 835 patients, all female, aged 17-80 (49±12) years, divided into training set (667 cases) and test set (168 cases) according to the "train-test-split" function in Python software at a ratio of 8∶2; and 49 patients were included from Center 2 as external validation set, all female, aged 34-70 (51±8) years. The radiomics features were extracted from the intralesional region (ITR), the perilesional regions of 5, 10 mm (PTR 5 mm, PTR10 mm) and the intra-and perilesional regions of 5, 10 mm (IPTR 5 mm, IPTR 10 mm) and were selected by variance filtering, SelectKBest algorithm, and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator. Then five radiomics signatures were constructed including ITR signature, PTR 5 mm signature, PTR 10 mm signature, IPTR 5 mm signature, IPTR 10 mm signature. In the training set, univariable and multivariable logistic regressions were used to construct nomograms by selecting radiomics signatures and clinical factors with significant difference between benign and malignant BI-RADS type 4 breast lesions. The efficacy of nomogram in predicting benign and malignant BI-RADS 4 breast lesions was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve (AUC). Decision curve and calibration curve were used to evaluate the net benefit and calibration capability of the nomogram.Results:The nomogram included ITR signature, PTR 5 mm signature, PTR 10 mm signature, IPTR 5 mm signature, age, and BI-RADS category 4 subclassification for differentiating malignant and benign BI-RADS category 4 breast lesions and obtained AUCs of 0.94, 0.92, and 0.95 in the training set, test set, and external validation set, respectively. The calibration curve showed good agreement between the predicted probabilities and actual results and the decision curve indicated a good net benefit of the nomogram for predicting malignant BI-RADS 4 lesions in the training set, test set, and external validation set.Conclusion:The nomogram constructed from the radiomics features of the internal and surrounding regions of CESM breast lesions combined with clinical factors is attributed to differentiate benign from malignant BI-RADS category 4 breast lesions.

The differential features of MRI between male benign and malignant breast lesions / 中华放射学杂志

Objective:To investigate the differential diagnosis of MRI between male malignant and benign breast lesions.Methods:Totally 34 patients with male breast lesions who underwent breast MRI examination from January 2011 to March 2019 were collected from Shanghai Cancer Center.All images were evaluated by two radiologists who were blinded to pathological results. When there was a disagreement, another independent senior radiologist assessed the imaging features. The imaging features including lesion location, T 1WI signal, T 2WI signal, lesion type and accompanying signs were evaluated. All lesions were confirmed by biopsy or surgical pathology. Twelve patients were in benign group, 22 patients in malignant group. The imaging findings of MRI were recorded and statistically analyzed by univariate analysis (continuous variables were tested by Mann-Whitney U test and categorical variables were tested by Fisher′s exact test). Results:Among the 34 patients, 31 cases clinically touched the mass and 3 cases showed simple nipple bleeding. In MRI signs, breast cancer showed mass-like enhancement (22/22), benign lesions showed non-mass enhancement (7/12), the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05). And ipsilateral axillary enlarged lymph nodes only appeared in breast cancer, which was significantly different from that in benign lesions ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in age, lesion location, T 1WI signal, T 2WI signal, skin thickening and nipple invagination between benign and malignant lesions. There was no significant difference in the size, shape and edge of the mass between benign and malignant lesions on MRI ( P>0.05). Conclusions:MRI can distinguish male malignant and benign breast lesions. Most of non-mass enhancement are benign lesion and enlarged lymph nodes are helpful to detect breast cancer, nipple retraction and skin thickening in the diagnosis of male breast cancer are limited.

The histogram features of quantitative parameters from synthetic MRI in predicting the expression of human epithelial growth factor receptor 2 in breast invasive ductual carcinoma / 中华放射学杂志

Objective:To evaluate the application value of the histogram features of quantitative parameters from synthetic MRI in predicting the expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in breast invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and to compare the prediction efficiency with that of ADC histogram parameters.Methods:A total of 195 patients with breast lesions were prospectively enrolled in the Fudan University Cancer Hospital, from January 2020 to September 2020. All patients underwent preoperative synthetic MRI, DWI and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI). All surgical specimens were confirmed by pathology. The histogram features of the quantitative parameters [T 1, T 2, and proton density (PD)] and ADC values were extracted by PyRadiomics software. Student t test or Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare the histogram characteristics of quantitative parameters (T 1, T 2, and PD) and ADC values between HER2-positive and HER2-negative breast cancers. The diagnostic efficacy of the variables in predicting HER2 expression state was evaluated using the area under curve (AUC) value of ROC. Results:A total of 122 patients with breast IDC were included into analysis, with 31 of HER2-positive and 91 of HER2-negative. There was no significant difference in the clinicopathological characteristics between HER2-positive and HER2-negative breast IDC patients. Univariate analysis showed that there was statistically significant difference in PD-median [79.80 (75.90, 83.90)ms vs. 76.56 (72.59, 79.09) ms, Z=-3.46, P<0.01], PD-mean [78.89 (74.80, 84.01) ms vs. 75.99 (71.70, 78.63) ms, Z=-2.61, P=0.01], PD-Kurtosis [6.45(3.45, 7.54) vs. 5.04 (3.55, 5.58), Z=-2.21, P=0.03], T 1-10 th percentile [731.52 (668.50, 975.39) ms vs. 726.51 (588.38, 852.19) ms, Z=-2.54, P=0.01], T 1-mean [1 161.97 (1 063.56, 1 253.78) ms vs. 1 072.75 (989.39, 1 154.04)ms, Z=-2.21, P=0.03] and ADC-Kurtosis [4.75 (2.72, 5.91) vs. 3.82 (2.69, 4.39), Z=-2.43, P=0.02] between HER2 positive and negative breast IDC patients. Multivariate analysis showed that PD-median ( P=0.004) and T 1-mean ( P=0.004) were independent risk factors for HER2 expression. The ROC curve of HER2 expression predicted by this model showed an AUC was 0.853(95%CI 0.779-0.926), with a sensitivity of 71% and a specificity of 81%. The ROC curve of ADC-Kurtosis for predicting the expression of HER2 showed that the AUC was 0.714 (95%CI 0.611-0.817), with the sensitivity of 45%, and the specificity of 85%. DeLong test showed that the diagnostic efficacy of quantitative parameters from synthetic MRI in predicting the status of HER2 was higher than that of ADC histogram parameters ( Z=2.18, P=0.04). Conclusion:Histogram features of synthetic MRI quantitative parameters contribute to the prediction of HER2 expression status in IDC and may therefore contribute to the determination of individualized anti-HER2 targeted therapy strategies.

Radiomics based on machine learning in predicting the long-term prognosis for triple-negative breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy / 中华放射学杂志

Objective:To explore the value of different radiomics models based on machine learning in predicting the risk of distant recurrence and metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer after neoadjuvant therapy.Methods:The clinical and imaging data of 150 patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) confirmed by histopathology were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgical resection from August 2011 to May 2017 in Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center and Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. One hundred and nine patients from Shanghai Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center were used as the training group, and 41 patients from Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine were used as the validation group. The features were extracted from dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) before treatment and were added with time domain features innovatively. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator cross validation and recursive feature elimination were applied to select features. Six different supervised machine learning algorithms (logistic regression, linear discriminant analysis, k-nearest neighbor, naive bayesian, decision tree, support vector machine) were used to predict the prognosis. ROC curve, accuracy and F1 measure were used to evaluate the performance of the six algorithms, and also verified by the validation group.Results:The support vector machine algorithm had the best predictive effect in the recurrence and metastasis model based on 15 features, with the highest area under curve (training group was 0.917, validation group was 0.859), and the highest accuracy rate (training group was 87.5%, validation group was 82.9%) and the highest F1 measure (training group was 0.800, validation group was 0.741). In addition, of the 15 imaging features, 12 were the time domain features and 3 were spatial features.Conclusion:With the help of the time domain features and machine learning algorithms, radiomics signatures based on preoperative DCE-MRI can help predict the distant prognosis for TNBC after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and provide support for clinical decision making and follow-up management.

A study on CT radiomics approach to predict outcomes of simultaneously pulmonary nodules in breast cancer patients after treatment / 中华放射学杂志

Objective:To evaluate the feasibility of CT radiomics method in predicting outcomes of simultaneous pulmonary nodules in breast cancer patients after treatment.Methods:Patients with breast cancer confirmed by pathology and with simultaneous pulmonary nodules (diameter>5 mm, number≤5) detected by preoperative CT were retrospectively enrolled in this study. Eighty female patients were included (median age: 52, quartile range: 45, 61). The pulmonary nodules (median size: 6.0 mm, quartile range: 5.5, 7.2 mm) were classified into stable group (without change over 2 years) and change group according to follow-up CT findings. The change group was further divided into improved group and progressive group. Eventually, 54 cases were in the stable group, 26 cases were in the change group. One hundred and five texture features were extracted using the python-based pyradiomics package based on preoperative CT images. Stepwise regression was used to exclude features without significant difference in predicting changes of pulmonary nodules. Classifiers model and 5 fold cross validation method were used to obtain the highest performance in predicting outcomes of pulmonary nodules. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the model.Results:After features exclusion and selection, three radiomics features were used to establish classifiers between stable group and change group. It was showed that the linear discriminate analysis was the optimal model with the specificity, sensitivity, accuracy and area under the ROC curve (AUC) as 0.980, 0.460, 0.813 and 0.770 respectively. One radiomics feature was chosen to establish classifiers between improved group and progressive group. The coarse gaussian support vector machine (CGSVM) was the optimal model, with the specificity, sensitivity, accuracy and AUC as 0.540, 0.920, 0.713 and 0.880 respectively.Conclusions:CT radiomics analysis has the potential to predict the outcomes of simultaneous indeterminate pulmonary nodules in breast cancer patients after treatment, and it may contribute to preoperative treatment and postoperative follow-up planning.

The diagnostic value of both mammography and MRI in combination with clinical features in high-risk breast lesions / 中华放射学杂志

Objective:To evaluate the value of mammography and MRI combined with clinical features in predicting upgrade to malignancy in high-risk breast lesions.Methods:Data from 230 patients who were diagnosed with high-risk breast lesions and underwent both mammography and MRI examinations before biopsy were analyzed retrospectively from Jan 2017 to Mar 2018 in Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Hospital. The imaging features of both mammography and MRI were analyzed, and the association between mammography, MRI and clinical features were evaluated using pathology as the gold standard. Independent t test and χ 2 test were used to compare the difference of clinical and imaging features between upgrade and non-upgrade groups, using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to test the diagnostic value between mammography and MRI. Binary logistic regression was used to evaluate the correlation between upgrade and clinical, imaging findings. Results:Two hundred and thirty patients had 230 lesions, and 47 cases had atypia upgrade to malignancy during second surgery (upgrade rate was 20.4%). There were statistically significant differences in age, maximum diameter of lesion, and menopausal status between the upgraded and non-upgraded groups ( P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in mammographic features between two groups ( P>0.05), while there was statistically significant difference in breast MRI features and background parenchymal enhancement ( P<0.05). For the diagnostic value in predicting upgrade of high-risk lesions, MRI was better than mammography (the areas under ROC curve were 0.913 and 0.606, Z=6.919, P<0.01). Single factor analysis showed that age, lesion size, menopausal status, MRI negative and background parenchymal enhancement on MRI were significantly different for upgrade to malignancy ( P<0.05). Multiple factors analysis showed age and background parenchymal enhancement on MRI were independent factors for predicting upgrade ( P<0.01). Conclusion:For the upgrade to malignancy in high-risk lesions, the diagnostic value of MRI is better than mammography. The elder age and moderate or marked background parenchymal enhancement on MRI may serve as useful predictors of upgrade.

Classification of mammography images with the methods of segmentation and multiple features fusion / 国际生物医学工程杂志

Objective:To combine automatic image segmentation technology and machine learning methods to accurately classify and recognize mammography images.Methods:Taking mammography images with clustered pleomorphic calcification as the research object, which were in BI-RADS4 class from the Digital Mammogram Database (DDSM). The region of interest (ROI) of the images was automatically segmented. The characteristic features extracted by wavelet transform, Gabor filter and gray level co-occurrence matrix method were fused. The fused feature parameters were screened based on sensitivity analysis. Using ensemble learning method, the polynomial kernel SVM, random forest and logistic regression classifiers were integrated to form a classifier for automatic classification of mammography images. The ensemble learning method was soft voting integration.Results:The proposed ensemble classifier can efficiently recognize and classify mammography images, and its classification sensitivity, specificity and accuracy on the training set were 99.1%, 99.6% and 99.3%, respectively.Conclusions:The proposed mammography image processing, classification and recognition method can provide assistant detection basis for doctors' clinical judgment, and provide a technical basis for subdividing BI-RADS4 class images.

Evaluation of Salivary Gland Function Using Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Follow-Up of Radiation-Induced Xerostomia

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) as a noninvasive tool to assess salivary gland function for follow-up of patients with radiation-induced xerostomia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 23 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma who had been treated with parotid-sparing radiotherapy (RT). Salivary function was assessed by DW-MRI pre-treatment and one week and one year post-RT, respectively. The maximum apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of parotid glands (pADCmax) and the time to peak ADC of parotid glands (pTmax) during stimulation were obtained. Multivariate analysis was used to analyze factors correlated with the severity of radiation-induced xerostomia. RESULTS: The ADCs of parotid and submandibular glands (1.26 ± 0.10 × 10−3 mm2/s and 1.32 ± 0.07 × 10−3 mm2/s pre-RT, respectively) both showed an increase in all patients at one week post-RT (1.75 ± 0.16 × 10−3 mm2/s, p < 0.001 and 1.70 ± 0.16 × 10−3 mm2/s, p < 0.001, respectively), followed by a decrease in parotid glands at one year post-RT(1.57 ± 0.15 × 10−3 mm2/s, p < 0.001) but not in submandibular glands (1.69 ± 0.18 × 10−3 mm2/s, p = 0.581). An improvement in xerostomia was found in 13 patients at one year post-RT. Multivariate analysis revealed 4 significant predictors for the improvement of xerostomia, including dose to parotid glands (p = 0.009, odds ratio [OR] = 0.639), the ADC of submandibular glands (p = 0.013, OR = 3.295), pADCmax (p = 0.024, OR = 0.474), and pTmax (p = 0.017, OR = 0.729) at one week post-RT. CONCLUSION: The ADC value is a sensitive indicator for salivary gland dysfunction. DW-MRI is potentially useful for noninvasively predicting the severity of radiation-induced xerostomia.

A preliminary study of MRI background parenchymal enhancement in the early prediction for tumor response during neoadjuvant chemotherapy / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To retrospectively investigate the characteristics of background parenchymal enhancement(BPE)in the contralateral breast following neoadjuvant chemotherapy(NAC)and whether BPE could help predict tumor response in early stage of advanced breast cancer. Methods Data from 161 patients who were diagnosed with unilateral breast cancer and then underwent NAC before surgery were analyzed retrospectively from August 2014 to December 2016.All the patients underwent both bilateral breast MRI scan with contrast enhancement. Two experienced radiologists independently categorized the patients' levels of BPE into four categories (1=minimal, 2=mild, 3=moderate, 4=marked) at baseline and after the 2nd cycle of NAC. All the patients were divided in to pathologic complete response (pCR) group and non-pCR group according to the histopathologic tumour response.The status of estrogen receptor(ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) were recorded before underwent NAC.The t test and Pearson chi-squared test were used to compare the baseline characteristics of the pCR and Non-pCR groups.The kappa test was used to test the inter-observer agreement.The Wilcoxon test was used to test for changes of BPE categories after NAC.The Mann-Whitney U test was used to test the difference of BPE between pre-and post-menopausal status. Associations were evaluated using Binary logistic regression models. Results Fifty nine patients achieved pCR, and 102 patients had residual disease (non-pCR). Age, tumor size, distribution of size, menopausal status and lymph node showed no significance between pCR and non-pCR groups(all P>0.05),while only ER/PR status and HER2 status had a significant difference (P>0.05 in both). Inter-observer agreement regarding BPE categorization was moderate and substantial before and after NAC(Kappa value 0.644 and 0.708).The level of BPE was higher in premenopausal than post-menopausal women both at baseline and after the 2nd cycle of NAC(P<0.01). Decreased BPE was observed in 106 cases(premenopausal 60 cases and postmenopausal 46 cases),and no change in BPE were observed in 55 cases (premenopausal 27 cases and postmenopausal 28 cases). A significant reduction in BPE was observed after the 2nd NAC cycle in the overall cases, pre-and post-menopausal cases (all P<0.01). Logistic model showed that hormonal receptor (HR) negative and HER-2 receptor at baseline and the change of BPE after NAC were the independent factors for predicting pCR. Conclusions Regardless of the menopausal status, BPE showed a reduction after NAC, and it can serve as an additional imaging biomarker of tumour response at an early stage of NAC.

The differential diagnostic value of digital breast tomosynthesis in combination with synthesized two-dimensional images in breast disease / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value and characteristics of breast lesion in digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) in combination with synthesized two-dimensional (2D) images. Methods The prospective study enrolled women older than 18 years with clinically suspected breast lesion.One hundred and sixty seven patients with 177 lesions confirmed by biopsy or surgery were included. All the patients underwent full-field digital mammography(FFDM)and DBT examinations,and synthesized 2D images(V-preview)were reconstructed from DBT.The images of FFDM,V-preview images and DBT plus FFDM, V-preview images were analyzed. The breast imaging reporting and data system (BI-RADS) and characteristic for predicting benign and malignant lesion were also evaluated.The average glandular dose for a single mammographic view between FFDM and DBT was recorded.The Nonparametric Z test was used to compare the differences among four different mammographic images in BI-RADS.The differential diagnostic performance among different mammography was evaluated by ROC analysis.Independent t test was used to compare the average glandular dose between FFDM and DBT.Results One hundred three benign lesions and 74 malignant lesions were confirmed. Compared with FFDM images alone or plus DBT,the diagnostic values of V-preview images alone/or plus DBT were not significantly different(Z=0.187 and 0.226,P=0.851 and 0.821), but compared with V-preview, the diagnostic values of V-preview images plus DBT revealed significant difference(Z=3.546,P<0.01).The area under ROC for V-preview plus DBT were 0.899,and the sensitivity,specificity,and accuracy were 90.5%,89.3%,and 89.3%,separately.For the average glandular dose, there was no significant difference between FFDM (1.48 ± 0.52) mGy and DBT (1.56 ± 0.39) mGy examination(t=1.714,P=0.087).Conclusion Synthesized 2D images from DBT,which may eliminate the need for FFDM,in combination with DBT can improve the diagnostic efficiency.

Diagnosis and differential diagnosis of cervical lymph node diseases / 中国癌症杂志

Most of the cervical lymph node metastasis comes from thyroid cancer and squamous cell carcinoma of different regions of the neck. Origin of the primary cancer could be general speculated based on thefirst metastatic station site. The metastatic lymph nodes of squamous cell carcinoma and thyroid carcinoma have their own characteristics. These metastatic lymph nodes need to be differentiated from lymph node inflammatory changes, tuberculosis, lymphoma, Castleman's disease, and soft tissue tumors.

A comparative study of diagnostic performance between digital breast tomosynthesis and conventional imaging methods / 中国癌症杂志

Background and purpose:Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. The new technology of mammography is helpful in breast cancer diagnosis. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) with conventional imaging methods in the diagnosis of benign and malignant breast lesions.Methods:During the period from Mar. 2015 to Dec. 2015, 227 patients with suspected lesions (by palpation or sonography) underwent further imaging exam in our hospital. The sonography, full-field digital mammography (FFDM), DBT and breast MRI were performed on all the patients. A double-blind assessment was carried out according to BI-RADS (version 2013) by experienced radiologists. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of all methods, referring to the pathological data as the golden standard; the difference in the efficiency of DBT from the other methods was determined byZ-test.Results:Thirty patients were excluded for the unsatisfactory images, and 205 lesions (132 malignant and 73 benign lesions) were detected in the remaining 197 patients. Area under the curve (AUC) of sonography, FFDM, DBT, DBT+FFDM and MRI based on the BI-RADS were 0.8308, 0.8592, 0.9167, 0.9198, and 0.9354, respectively. The AUC of DBT was significantly higher than those of sonography (Z=7.36,P=0.0067) and FFDM (Z=4.89,P=0.0271), while there was no significantly difference between DBT and MRI (Z=0.02,P=0.9002) or FFDM+DBT (Z=0.69,P=0.4048).Conclusion:DBT could significantly improve the diagnostic performance for breast lesions compared with sonography and FFDM, providing a comparable efficiency to MRI. As a new mammography technology, DBT has good clinical application prospect.

Diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced spectral mammography / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To assess the value of contrast enhanced mammography (CESM) in the detection of breast cancer. Methods A total of 145 patients who were suspected of breast abnormalities by clinical examination or ultrasound were prospectively collected. All patients underwent bilateral breast CESM and MRI examinations. Breast CESM and MRI examination were completed in the same week. The pathological specimens were analyzed and the maximum diameters of pathological lesions were measured. The lesions were observed on low energy(LE), CESM and MRI images, and then the maximum diameters of lesions on the above images were measured. Using pathology results as the gold standard, the diagnostic efficacy of LE, CESM and MRI were analyzed by ROC curve, and Z test was used to compare the areas under the ROC curves among different imaging methods. Bland-Altman method was used to analyze the consistency of the maximum diameters of the lesions obtained with different imaging methods. Results One hundred and fifty three lesions were found in 145 patients, in which 36 were benign and 117 were malignant. The LE, CESM and MRI showed 140, 151 and 149 lesions respectively, and the qualitative diagnostic errors were 25, 8 and 11, respectively. The areas under ROC curves of LE, CESM and MRI were 0.87, 0.96 and 0.97 respectively. There was significant difference of the area under ROC curve between CESM and LE, so did the MRI and LE (P<0.05), but there was not significant difference between CESM and MRI (P=0.51). The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy in the diagnosis of malignant breast lesions were 88.98%, 65.71% and 83.66% for LE, while they were 95.80%, 91.18% and 94.77% for CESM, 94.17%, 87.88%and 92.81%for MRI. The average difference of diameters between LE, CESM, MRI and pathologic size was-1.7, 1.1 and 0.3 mm, respectively, with 95%consistency interval range of-18.6 to 15.1,-9.8 to 12.1,-10.6 to 11.2 mm, respectively. There was best consistency between the pathological size and the size on MRI. Conclusion CESM can significantly improve the diagnostic efficacy of breast lesions, which is comparable with MRI.

Lymph node metastatic models of VX2 tumor in New Zealand white rabbits and their biological characteristics / 中国癌症杂志

Background and purpose:The lymph node metastatic model of rectal tumor is a useful tool for the research on tumor occurrence, development, metastasis and antineoplastic therapy. There are few reports about establishment of larger animal model. This study aimed to establish feasible and reproducible lymph node metastatic models of VX2 tumor in rabbits.Methods:The VX2 tumor tissue was put into the puncture needle. The VX2 tumor tissue in the needle was orthotopically transplanted into the rectal wall of the New Zealand white rabbits successfully. Twenty New Zealand white rabbits were transplanted. Two experimental rabbits were scanned by MR weekly. Tumor growth curve and lymph node numbers were observed on MR. Experimental rabbit tumor volumes were measured by MR post-processing software. The rectal tumor and surrounding lymph nodes were resected, and the specimens were ifxed. The sections were stained with HE. We explored the relationship between tumor volume and growth time, the number of metastatic lymph nodes and tumor volume, respectively.Results:Thirteen models were successfully established with a rate of 65%. Tumors limited in the rectal wall were observed on the fourth week. Tumor size increased over time. There was significant difference in the tumor volume between different periods (growth cycle number) (F=52.865,P9 cm3. The number of metastatic lymph node increased obviously from the ninth week. The more tumor volume, the greater the number of metastatic lymph nodes was observed (F=92.531,P<0.05). There was a signiifcantly positive correlation between the number of metastatic lymph nodes and the tumor volume (r=0.945,P<0.05).Conclusion:Metastatic lymph node models of VX2 tumor in New Zealand white rabbits were established successfully. This model has some value in the research on local growth, invasion mechanism, lymph node metastasis and biological characteristics of rectal cancer.

Role of the dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI in assessing the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy of breast cancer / 中国癌症杂志

Background and purpose:Neoadjuvant chemotherapy to breast cancer has become a mature treat-ment method. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI in assessing the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).Methods:Twenty-four female patients with breast carcinoma (24 were all inva-sive ductal carcinoma) underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) before, after the second and ifnal cycle of NAC. For each patient and each MRI examination, the maximum diameter of tumor, volume transfer constant (Ktrans), exchange rate constant (Kep), and extravascular extracellular volume fraction (Ve) were compared. According to the method of response evaluation criteria in solid tumor (RECIST), the results of neoadjuvant chemotherapy were divided into responder and non-responder.Results:All 24 patients were unilateral and single breast cancer; there were 17 cases of responders and 7 cases of non-responders according to RECIST criteria. For 17 cases of responders, both the average values ofKtrans andKepwere signiifcantly descended after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (allP<0.05).Conclusion:The quantitative parameters ofKtrans andKep can evaluate objectively and veridically the response to neoadjuvant chemother-apy for breast cancer in dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI.

Efficacy of high-resolution MRI in the prediction of tumor complete response after neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy for T3 rectal cancer / 中华消化外科杂志

Objective To explore the efficacy of high-resolution MRI in the prediction of tumor complete response after neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy for T3 rectal cancer.Methods The clinical data of 108 patients with T3 rectal cancer who were admitted to Shanghai Cancer Center of Fudan University from 2010 to 2012 were retrospectively analyzed.The TNM stage of tumor,extramural depth of tumor invasion (mrT3 stage),involvement of mesorectum and rectal fascia,tumor diameter and distance from anal edge to lower edge of tumor were the main items of evaluation using the high-resolution MRI.A total of 108 patients underwent surgical resection of tumor after neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy.The tumor complete response after neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy was evaluated by tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage and tumor regression grade (TRG).The categorical data and multivariate analysis were done by the single factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Logistic regression analysis.Results The positive response rate of the T3a,T3b and T3c in the patients were 61.5％ (16/26),36.9％ (24/65) and 11.8％ (2/17) after neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy,respectively.The mrT3,mrN and tumor diameter were the potential factors affecting response of neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy by the univariate analysis of pathological restaging (x2 =50.474,30.985,8.318,P ＜ 0.05).The mrT3 was an independent risk factor affecting response of neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy by the multivariate analysis of pathological restaging (OR =4.473,95 ％ confidence interval:2.003-9.991,P ＜ 0.05).There was no significant difference between the mrT3 stage,N stage,involvement of mesorectum and rectal fascia,tumor diameter and distance from anal edge to lower edge of tumor before therapy and the response after neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy based on the tumor regression grade(TRG) (x2 =6.264,6.159,2.949,2.189,6.335,P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion The mrT3 in patients undergoing high-resolution MRI before neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy could predict the tumor complete response after neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy for T3 rectal cancer.

Clinical application study on malignant metastatic diseases between DWIBS and PET/CT / 中国癌症杂志

Background and purpose: Diffusion-weighted whole-body imaging with background body signal suppression (DWIBS) can be used for magnetic resonance imaging systemic examination, especially in examing the metastatic lesions, lymph node and bone diseases, and the imaging result is similar with PET. This study aimed to evaluate the application value of magnetic resonance DWIBS and positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET/CT) on malignant metastatic diseases. Methods: Thirty-six patients confirmed with malignant tumors accompanying metastasis by the pathology of operation or biopsy underwent both DWIBS imaging and PET/CT, chi-square test and Kappa test were used for comparing the detection results of metastasis by these 2 imaging methods. Results:Among the 36 malignant tumor patients with 238 metastatic lesions, 218 (91.6%, 218/238) lesions in DWIBS and 209 (87.8%, 209/238) lesions in PET/CT were detected, with 200 lesions detected by the two methods simultaneously, and the concordance rate was 88.7%(211/238);but there was no statistical signiifcance between this two methods (χ2=1.843, P=0.157). Kappa test showed a fair concordance rate between DWIBS and PET/CT (P=0.000).There were different significance between DWIBS and PET/CT in detecting metastatic lesions of brain and bone (P=0.005 and 0.031);But there was no signiifcant differences (P=0.309 and 1.000) in detecting metastatic lesions of lymph nodes and liver. Conclusion:DWIBS could detect metastatic lesions effectively, and there is ifne consistency with PET/CT. DWIBS is more sensitive than PET/CT in detecting metastatic lesions of brain and bone, so DWIBS could be chosed for screening metastatic lesions according to the characteristics of different primary tumors.

Value of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI in predicting response to neoadjuvant chemoradiation in locally advanced rectal cancer / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To determine the value of dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE?MRI) in predicting treatment response before preoperative chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer. Methods A cohort of consecutive patients with histologically confirmed rectal adenocarcinoma treated with preoperative chemoradiotherapy followed by total mesorectal excision (TME) surgery was enrolled in a prospective, pilot trial. All enrolled patients were examined using DCE?MRI at two time points: 2 to 5 days before neoadjuvant chemoradiation, 1 to 4 days before surgery. The following perfusion parameters (Ktrans, Kep, Ve) were measured for tumor. The patients were classified into pathological complete response (pCR) and non?pCR group according to the pathological results after operation. Those perfusion parameters were compared between the pCR and the non?pCR group and between before and after CRT in pCR and the non?pCR group with the t test. Receiver?operating curves (ROC) were constructed to further investigate the predictive value of Ktrans, Kep, Ve before neoadjuvant chemoradiation and were used to determine a threshold value at which patents with pCR could be distinguished from patients without complete response. Results The final study population consisted of 38 patients. There were 12 patients with a pCR and 26 patients with non?pCR. Before neoadjuvant chemoradiation, the mean tumor Ktrans, Kep and Ve for pCR group were (1.25 ± 0.56)/min, (2.10 ± 1.61)/min and 0.73 ± 0.34, respectively, for non?pCR group they were (0.46 ± 0.39)/min, (1.15 ± 0.77)/min and 0.32±0.12, respectively. All perfusion parameters showed significant difference between those two groups(t values were 3.45,5.67 and 6.23 respectively, all P0.05), as well as the changes before and after neoadjuvant chemoradiation in those groups(P>0.05). ROC analysis for Ktrans pre?treatment revealed that Ktrans had an AUC of 0.837 in predicting pCR. A Ktrans of 0.66/min was emerged as the optimal cut?off for distinguishing pCR from non?pCR and for Ktrans>0.66/min, the sensitivity and specificity for predicting pCR were 75.0% (9/12) and 96.2% (25/26). Kep and Ve showed an AUC of 0.655 and 0.654 in predicting pCR. Conclusions In locally advanced rectal cancer, DCE?MRI can aid in predicting treatment response before preoperative chemoradiotherapy. Ktrans may become a better predictor to classify which patients will benefit from neoadjuvant chemoradiation.

Diagnostic value of digital breast tomosynthesis plus full-field digital mammography in breast disease / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) plus full-field digital mammography (FFDM) in benign and malignant breast disease.Methods The prospective study enrolled 46 consenting women with a clinical suspicious of breast lesion confirmed by pathology. All the patients underwent DBT, FFDM and dedicated breast magnetic resonance image (DB-MRI) examinations before surgery or biopsy. To observe the manifestation of breast disease in different examinations according to breast imaging reporting and data system (BI-RADS), and to evaluate the visibility grade of disease between DBT plus FFDM and FFDM alone. Using receiving operating characteristic(ROC) and Z test to analysis the diagnostic efficiency of three examinations.Results Forty-six cases included 14 benign cases and 32 malignant cases. Compared with FFDM, 35 cases showed increased visibility in DBT plus FFDM, that the malignant lesion manifested mass with speculated and architectural distortion(23/27) and the benign lesion manifested mass with halo sign(6/8). Eleven cases didn't show increase visibility in both DBT plus FFDM and FFDM alone. The ration of BI-RADS 0 in FFDM was 23.9%(11/46), meanwhile in other two examination were 0. The ration of BI-RADS 3 in DBT plus FFDM was the lowest(6.5%, 3/46). When the lesion in DBT plus FFDM showed mass or speculated, in MRI showed similar morphology with mass or mass-like enhancement. According pathology as the gold standard, excluded 11 cases with BI-RADS 0 in FFDM, there was significant statistical difference between DBT plus FFDM and FFDM alone in 35 cases (Z=2.132, P=0.033) to differentiate benign and malignant breast disease, the area of ROC curve were respectively 0.955, 0.878. There is no statistical difference between DBT plus FFDM and MRI in 46 cases (Z=0.502, P=0.616), the area of ROC curve were respectively 0.887, 0.908.Conclusion DBT combined with FFDM can improve both detection of breast lesion and diagnostic efficiency, while the performance value between DBT and MRI are equal.

Solid papillary carcinoma of breast: imaging features correlated with pathological findings / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To investigate the appearance of solid papillary carcinoma (SPC)of breast on MRI and mammography correlated with histopathological features.Methods Fifteen patients with breast SPC diagnosed from January 2011 to January 2013 were enrolled.Their MR and mammography imaging findings were retrospectively reviewed,15 patients had MRI and 11 patients had mammography.The correlation between pathological characteristics and imaging findings was made.Results All the SPC displayed a solid-papillary growth pattern together with Luminal A type,and 14 cases showed neuroendocrine markers.On mammography,only three cases showed the abnormality.The most frequently seen MRI feature was its location in the posterior of areola (11 cases),ductal ectasia on T1WI (11 cases) and high signal intensity on T2WI.The enhancement patterns included non-mass-like enhancement (10 cases),mostly manifested as ductal with clumped enhancement (5 cases) and segmental with pebble shaped enhancement (4 cases),whereas mass-like enhancement (5 cases) exhibited as annular heterogeneous enhancement.Conclusions SPC is difficult to detect on mammography,but the MRI features may suggest its distinct histological type as papillary tumor.The ultimate diagnosis still depends on histopathology and immunohistochemical results.