A pilot study of sodium breast MRI and relaxometry for characterization of breast cancer

摘要： 该提案评估了钠MRI和钠弛豫法作为肿瘤侵袭性和肿瘤分级的标志物。 人类乳腺癌的初步研究。 组织中的钠浓度可能是恶性肿瘤的有价值的分子标志物。先前的研究 显示在大的乳腺癌中钠水平升高。钠弛豫参数T1和双指数 T2* 也被证明与恶性肿瘤有关，但尚未进行系统研究 在乳腺癌中。 我们的建议包括两个具体目标：1）开发和实施优化的钠乳腺MRI硬件 和协议，以最大限度地提高钠浓度估计和弛豫的准确性，和2）进行 定量钠MRI在X线发现的可疑病变预定活检患者中的初步研究 乳房X光片、超声或常规MRI。这项研究将探讨钠水平和 弛豫测量数据可以区分良性和恶性病变。该试点研究的数据将 为将来更广泛的大规模钠MRI评价提供初步数据， 乳腺癌 我们的长期目标是提高乳腺MRI检测乳腺癌的特异性。如果 通过使用钠成像可以增加乳腺MRI的特异性，这将减少 不必要的乳腺活检，并将提供有关患者疾病程度的更准确信息 与乳腺癌的新诊断，以帮助选择适当的治疗。所提出的技术 发展和试点研究是实现这一最终目标的重要步骤。

Abstract: This proposal evaluates sodium MRI and sodium relaxometry as markers of tumor invasiveness and grade of human breast cancer in a pilot study. Concentration of sodium in tissue may be a valuable molecular marker of malignancy. Previous studies have shown elevated sodium levels in large breast cancers. Sodium relaxometry parameters T1 and biexponential T2* have also been shown to be associated with malignancy but have not yet been systematically investigated in breast cancer. Our proposal includes two specific aims: 1) to develop and implement optimized sodium breast MRI hardware and protocols to maximize the accuracy of sodium concentration estimation and relaxometry, and 2) to conduct a pilot study of quantitative sodium MRI in patients scheduled for biopsy of suspicious lesions found by x-ray mammograms, ultrasound, or conventional MRI. This study will explore whether sodium levels and relaxometry data can discriminate between benign and malignant lesions. Data from this pilot study will provide preliminary data for a future proposal for more extensive large scale evaluation of sodium MRI for breast cancer. Our long-term motivation is to improve the specificity of breast MRI for detection of breast cancer. If the specificity of breast MRI can be increased through the use of sodium imaging, this will decrease the number of unnecessary breast biopsies and will provide more accurate information about extent of disease in patients with a new diagnosis of breast cancer to aid in the choice of appropriate therapy. The proposed technology development and pilot study are important steps toward this ultimate goal.