(Press-News.org) OAK BROOK, Ill. – Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides an indication of a breast tumor's response to pre-surgical chemotherapy significantly earlier than possible through clinical examination, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.
Women with breast cancer often undergo chemotherapy prior to surgery. Research has shown that women who receive this treatment, known as neoadjuvant chemotherapy, are more likely to achieve breast conservation than those receiving chemotherapy after surgery.
Clinicians track a patient's response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy through clinical measurements of the tumor's size and location. Contrast-enhanced MRI offers a promising alternative to the clinical approach through its ability to detect blood vessel formation in tumors, known as angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is an earlier and more accurate marker of tumor response.
"MRI was better than the clinical approach for predicting which patients would go on to have complete tumor response," said Nola M. Hylton, Ph.D., professor of radiology and biomedical imaging at the University of California in San Francisco. "It gave us great information on early response to treatment."
For the study, researchers analyzed data from ACRIN 6657, the imaging component of the multicenter Investigation of Serial Studies to Predict Your Therapeutic Response with Imaging And moLecular Analysis (I-SPY TRIAL) breast cancer trial.
They compared MRI and clinical assessment in 216 female patients ranging in age from 26 to 68 years undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy for stage II or III breast cancer. MRI sessions were performed before, during and after administration of a chemotherapy regimen. The researchers correlated imaging results with subsequent laboratory analysis of surgical samples.
MRI size measurements were superior to clinical examination at all time points, with tumor volume change showing the greatest relative benefit at the second MRI exam. MRI was better than clinical assessment in predicting both complete tumor response and residual cancer burden.
The study shows how imaging can play a vital role in characterizing a tumor and monitoring treatment response.
"What we see on imaging helps us define not just the size of the tumor but its biological activity," Dr. Hylton said. "We can observe if the signal increases after contrast injection, and interpret that increase as angiogenic activity. We can also use water diffusion measurements with MRI to provide an indirect reflection of the density of the cells."
Dr. Hylton and colleagues currently are assessing I-SPY data to see if MRI is better for predicting the likelihood of breast cancer recurrence. They expect to publish those results later this year.
###
"MRI Prediction of Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Women with Locally-advanced Breast Cancer: Results from the ACRIN 6657/ISPY TRIAL." Collaborating with Dr. Hylton were Jeffrey D. Blume, Ph.D., Wanda Bernreuter, M.D., Etta D. Pisano, M.D., Mark A. Rosen, M.D., Ph.D., Elizabeth Morris, M.D., Paul Weatherall, M.D., Constance D. Lehman, M.D., Ph.D., Gillian M. Newstead, M.D., Sandra Polin, M.D., Helga S. Marques, M.S., Laura J. Esserman, M.D., M.B.A., and Mitchell Schnall, M.D., Ph.D., for the ACRIN 6657 Trial Team and I-SPY 1 TRIAL Investigators.
Radiology is edited by Herbert Y. Kressel, M.D., Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass., and owned and published by the Radiological Society of North America, Inc. (http://radiology.rsna.org/)
RSNA is an association of more than 48,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists committed to excellence in patient care through education and research. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Ill. (RSNA.org)
For patient-friendly information on breast MRI, visit RadiologyInfo.org.
END
Researchers at New York University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered new ways neurons work together to ease the transition between sleep and wakefulness. Their findings, which appear in the journal Neuron, provide additional insights into sleep-wake patterns and offer methods to explore what may disrupt them.
Their study explored the biological, or circadian, clocks of Drosophila fruit flies, which are commonly used for research in this area. This is because it is relatively easy to find mutants with malfunctioning biological ...
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic researchers will present findings on prostate cancer risk, screening, treatment and other urological research at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association May 19-23 in Atlanta. Mayo Clinic urologists will also be available to provide expert comment for reporters covering the conference.
Mayo Clinic studies that will be presented and their embargo dates include:
No negative impact on overall survival from post-prostate surgery hormone therapy
Embargoed until 10:30 a.m. ET Monday, May 21
In a first-of-its-kind study ...
A new study finds that transplanting embryonic cells into adult mouse spinal cord can alleviate persistent pain. The research, published by Cell Press in the May 24th issue of the journal Neuron, suggests that reduced pain results from successful integration of the embryonic cells into the host spinal cord. The findings open avenues for clinical strategies aimed not just at treating the symptoms of chronic debilitating pain, but correcting the underlying disease pathology.
There are two major classes of chronic pain: inflammatory pain that results from injury to tissue, ...
A new study unravels a link between a protein that can modify cellular metabolism in the brain and seizure susceptibility. The research, published by Cell Press in the May 24th issue of the journal Neuron, may lead to the development of new treatments for epilepsy.
Epilepsy is a disorder characterized by seizures, unpredictable and abnormal bursts of electrical activity in the brain. Some cases of epilepsy are resistant to traditional drug treatments but can be improved by a "ketogenic" diet. This type of diet, which is very low in sugars and high in fat, forces neurons ...
As the U.S. presidential election campaigns heat up, the economic debate is dominated by bailouts, austerity and, inevitably, taxation. Now a new study published in Symbolic Interaction asks why tax is such an important issue to voters and explores the moral ideas which underpin their views.
Americans are famously hostile to taxes even though they are not heavily taxed in comparison to Canadians and the British. In their study Dr Jeff Kidder and Dr Isaac Martin, from Northern Illinois University and the University of California-San Diego, explore how middle class feelings ...
DURHAM, N.C. -- A Duke University-led study of North Carolina toddlers suggests that exposure to potentially toxic flame-retardant chemicals may be higher in nonwhite toddlers than in white toddlers.
The study also suggests that exposure to the chemicals is higher among toddlers whose fathers do not have a college degree, a proxy measure of lower socioeconomic background.
Hand-to-mouth activity may account for a significant amount of the children's exposure to the contaminants, according to the study, which appears Wednesday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. ...
The limitations of conventional and current solar cells include high production cost, low operating efficiency and durability, and many cells rely on toxic and scarce materials. Northwestern University researchers have developed a new solar cell that, in principle, will minimize all of these solar energy technology limitations.
In particular, the device is the first to solve the problem of the Grätzel cell, a promising low-cost and environmentally friendly solar cell with a significant disadvantage: it leaks. The dye-sensitized cell's electrolyte is made of an organic ...
Lunge feeding in rorqual whales (a group that includes blue, humpback and fin whales) is unique among mammals, but details of how it works have remained elusive. Now, scientists from the Smithsonian Institution and University of British Columbia have solved the mystery. They discovered a sensory organ in the chin of rorqual whales that communicates to the brain. The organ orchestrates the dramatic changes and adjustments needed in jaw position and throat-pouch expansion to make lunge feeding successful. The team's research will be the featured cover story in the May 24 ...
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are molecules produced in the skin to fend off infection-causing microbes. Vitamin D has been credited with a role in their production and in the body's overall immune response, but scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say a hormone previously associated only with maintaining calcium homeostasis and bone health is also critical, boosting AMP expression when dietary vitamin D levels are inadequate.
The finding, published in the May 23, 2012 online issue of Science Translational Medicine, more fully explains ...
Leading provider of corporate gifts and customizable incentives Leighmans this week reports that it is on course for GBP1m revenues during the current financial year.
Leighmans specializes in innovative corporate gifts and this year has seen demand for products rise despite the continuing economic climate. Customers have been requesting items, from pens to mugs, post-it notes to badges and polo shirts - in increasing numbers.
Leighmans has been operating for more than 10 years now and the company has enjoyed steady growth. According to founder Darren Leigh, the company ...
