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Updated: Aug 16, 2025
Adipo-Clear: A Tissue Clearing Method for Three-Dimensional Imaging of Adipose Tissue
Published on: July 28, 2018
Breast adipose tissue attenuation as a novel imaging biomarker for cardiometabolic risk
Katherine M Bunnell1, Marilyn E Galdamez1, Martin Torriani1
1Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Background:
Certain adipose tissue depots infer higher cardiometabolic risk than body mass index (BMI).
Purpose:
To assess breast adipose tissue (BrAT) attenuation as a novel imaging biomarker for cardiometabolic risk.
Material And Methods:
We studied 151 women (mean age = 56 ± 1 years) across the weight spectrum. BrAT attenuation, abdominal adipose tissue cross-sectional areas (CSA), and attenuation were quantified using non-contrast computed tomography (CT) scans. Cardiometabolic risk factors were assessed from medical records.
Results:
BrAT attenuation was lower in obese women compared to lean women. BrAT attenuation was inversely associated with BMI, waist circumference, abdominal fat CSA, fasting glucose, and triglycerides (P ≤ 0.02), and positively associated with abdominal adipose tissue attenuation (P < 0.001). BrAT attenuation had a sensitivity of 90% but a specificity of only 35% in detecting the metabolic syndrome (area under the curve = 0.63).
Conclusion:
BrAT attenuation is associated with cardiometabolic risk markers and could serve as an imaging biomarker for opportunistic risk assessment in patients undergoing CT examination of the chest.
