Submit to Diagnostics Review for Diagnostics Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

New Horizons in Breast Cancer Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Imaging and Theranostics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2023) | Viewed by 4364

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Hadassa Degani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Immunology and Regenerative Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
Interests: cancer MRI; cancer MRS; breast cancer; prostate cancer; hormonal regulation

Dr. Edna Furman-Haran

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor

1. Life Sciences Core Facilities, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
2. The Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
Interests: MRI; MRS; ultrahigh field; fMRI; breast cancer MRI

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has experienced fast advancements in recent decades, leading to continued technical improvements and the development of new methods and procedures. This Special Issue will focus on the ongoing advancements of MRI in breast cancer screening, diagnosis, prognosis, and follow-up of therapy. Specifically, it will describe the various ways and means of breast MRI, including innovations in pulse sequences, in the various exogenous contrast-enhanced methods, in new developments of intrinsic contrast methods based on water diffusion, magnetization transfer, arterial spin labeling, as well as sodium imaging and metabolic imaging using hyperpolarized 13C-labeled precursors. In addition, this issue will cover the initial role of radiomics and artificial intelligence algorithms in improving processing and analysis of breast MRI.

Prof. Dr. Hadassa Degani
Dr. Edna Furman-Haran
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

breast MRI protocols and pulse sequences
exogenous contrast in breast MRI
intrinsic contrast in breast MRI
metabolic breast MRI
MRI follow-up of breast cancer therapies
AI in breast MRI
breast MRI radiomics

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Review

16 pages, 4500 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Relaxation–Diffusion T2–ADC Correlations in Breast Cancer Patients: A Spatiotemporally Encoded 3T MRI Assessment

by Martins Otikovs, Noam Nissan, Edna Furman-Haran, Debbie Anaby, Ravit Agassi, Miri Sklair-Levy and Lucio Frydman

Diagnostics 2023, 13(23), 3516; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13233516 - 23 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 707

Abstract

Quantitative correlations between T2 and ADC values were explored on cancerous breast lesions using spatiotemporally encoded (SPEN) MRI. To this end, T2 maps of patients were measured at more than one b-value, and ADC maps at several echo time values were recorded. SPEN delivered quality, artifact-free, TE-weighted DW images, from which T2-ADC correlations could be obtained despite the signal losses brought about by diffusion and relaxation. Data confirmed known aspects of breast cancer lesions, including their reduced ADC values vs. healthy tissue. Data also revealed an anticorrelation between the T2 and ADC values, when comparing regions with healthy and diseased tissues. This is contrary to expectations based on simple water restriction considerations. It is also contrary to what has been observed in a majority of porous materials and tissues. Differences between the healthy tissue of the lesion-affected breast and healthy tissue in the contralateral breast were also noticed. The potential significance of these trends is discussed, as is the potential of combining T2- and ADC-weightings to achieve an enhanced endogenous MRI contrast about the location of breast cancer lesions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons in Breast Cancer Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

10 pages, 1031 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hyperoxic BOLD-MRI-Based Characterization of Breast Cancer Molecular Subtypes Is Independent of the Supplied Amount of Oxygen: A Preclinical Study

by Silvester J. Bartsch, Viktoria Ehret, Joachim Friske, Vanessa Fröhlich, Daniela Laimer-Gruber, Thomas H. Helbich and Katja Pinker

Diagnostics 2023, 13(18), 2946; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13182946 - 14 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 907

Abstract

Hyperoxic BOLD-MRI targeting tumor hypoxia may provide imaging biomarkers that represent breast cancer molecular subtypes without the use of injected contrast agents. However, the diagnostic performance of hyperoxic BOLD-MRI using different levels of oxygen remains unclear. We hypothesized that molecular subtype characterization with hyperoxic BOLD-MRI is feasible independently of the amount of oxygen. Twenty-three nude mice that were inoculated into the flank with luminal A (n = 9), Her2⁺ (n = 5), and triple-negative (n = 9) human breast cancer cells were imaged using a 9.4 T Bruker BioSpin system. During BOLD-MRI, anesthesia was supplemented with four different levels of oxygen (normoxic: 21%; hyperoxic: 41%, 71%, 100%). The change in the spin–spin relaxation rate in relation to the normoxic state,

Δ R_{2}^{*}

, dependent on the amount of erythrocyte-bound oxygen, was calculated using in-house MATLAB code.

Δ R_{2}^{*}

was significantly different between luminal A and Her2⁺ as well as between luminal A and triple-negative breast cancer, reflective of the less aggressive luminal A breast cancer’s ability to better deliver oxygen-rich hemoglobin to its tissue. Differences in

Δ R_{2}^{*}

between subtypes were independent of the amount of oxygen, with robust distinction already achieved with 41% oxygen. In conclusion, hyperoxic BOLD-MRI may be used as a biomarker for luminal A breast cancer identification without the use of exogenous contrast agents. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons in Breast Cancer Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 2373 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Feasibility of Diffusion Tensor Imaging for Decreasing Biopsy Rates in Breast Imaging: Interim Analysis of a Prospective Study

by Jacob S. Ecanow, David B. Ecanow, Bradley Hack, Nondas Leloudas and Pottumarthi V. Prasad

Diagnostics 2023, 13(13), 2226; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13132226 - 30 Jun 2023

Viewed by 995

Abstract

Because of the limited specificity of diagnostic imaging, many breast lesions referred for biopsy turn out to be benign. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether diffusion tensor MRI (DTI) parametric maps can be used to safely avoid biopsy of breast lesions. Individuals referred for breast biopsy based on mammogram (MG), ultrasound (US), and/or contrast enhanced (CE)-MRI were recruited. Scans consisting of T2-weighted and DTI sequences were performed. Multiple DTI-derived parametric color maps were evaluated semi-quantitatively to characterize lesions as “definitely benign,” “not definitely benign,” or “suspicious.” All patients subsequently underwent biopsy. In this moderately-sized prospective study, 21 out of 47 pathologically proven benign lesions were characterized by both readers as “definitely benign,” which would have precluded the need for biopsy. Biopsy was recommended for 11 out of 13 cancers that were characterized as “suspicious.” In the remaining two cancers and 26 of 47 benign lesions, the scans were characterized as “not definitely benign” and hence required biopsy. The main causes for “not definitely benign” scans were small lesion sizes and noise. The results suggest that in appropriately selected patients, DTI may be used to safely reduce the number of unnecessary breast biopsies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons in Breast Cancer Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

16 pages, 4810 KiB

Open AccessReview

Hyperpolarized Carbon-13 MRI in Breast Cancer

by Ramona Woitek and Kevin M. Brindle

Diagnostics 2023, 13(13), 2311; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13132311 - 7 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1419

Abstract

One of the hallmarks of cancer is metabolic reprogramming, including high levels of aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg effect). Pyruvate is a product of glucose metabolism, and ¹³C-MR imaging of the metabolism of hyperpolarized (HP) [1-¹³C]pyruvate (HP ¹³C-MRI) has been shown to be a potentially versatile tool for the clinical evaluation of tumor metabolism. Hyperpolarization of the ¹³C nuclear spin can increase the sensitivity of detection by 4–5 orders of magnitude. Therefore, following intravenous injection, the location of hyperpolarized ¹³C-labeled pyruvate in the body and its subsequent metabolism can be tracked using ¹³C-MRI. Hyperpolarized [¹³C]urea and [1,4-¹³C₂]fumarate are also likely to translate to the clinic in the near future as tools for imaging tissue perfusion and post-treatment tumor cell death, respectively. For clinical breast imaging, HP ¹³C-MRI can be combined with ¹H-MRI to address the need for detailed anatomical imaging combined with improved functional tumor phenotyping and very early identification of patients not responding to standard and novel neoadjuvant treatments. If the technical complexity of the hyperpolarization process and the relatively high associated costs can be reduced, then hyperpolarized ¹³C-MRI has the potential to become more widely available for large-scale clinical trials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons in Breast Cancer Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

► Show Figures