Keywords:
Breast, Oncology, MR, Diagnostic procedure, Cancer
Authors:
H. AYDIN, B. GUNER, I. ESEN BOSTANCI, M. BOYACIOGLU BULUT, B. K. Arıbaş, L. DOGAN, M. A. GULCELİK, O. Unal; Ankara/TR
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2018/C-1238
Conclusion
We aimed to identify any relationship between dynamic MRI findings (with a focus on washout type curve) and factors that affect prognosis in invasive ductal breast cancers.
Currently; tumor size and type,
histological grade,
lymph node status,
lymphovascular invasion (LVI),
steroid receptor (estrogen and progesterone) and human epidermal growth factor receptor expressions,
and proliferation markers such as Ki-67 are accepted as important prognosis determining/effecting factors.
Contrast-enhanced dynamic MRI is currently an important imaging tool in the evaluation of invasive breast cancer.
The imaging findings can help in identifying important characteristics of the tumor; thus the evaluation of these findings in regard to their relationship with prognostic factors could have yielded important results and changed the way imaging modalities are utilized in breast cancer.
However,
in our study,
neither enhancement characteristics nor dynamic findings were found to be associated with prognostic factors.
However,
this does not mean that imaging findings are in no way related to patient prognosis; future studies that analyze the relationship between MRI findings and patients’ follow-up and survival data are needed to identify direct relationships.
Another important matter that needs to be clarified in future studies is the grouping of initial enhancement characteristics.
Studies vary in the grouping and utilization of enhancement data; which results in inability to compare study findings with each other.
Thus,
a first step in enhancement evaluation may be to identify medically relevant enhancement cut-points.