Intratumoral Intensity in T2-weighted MRI and the Association With Histological and Molecular Prognostic Factors in...

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Oncology
• Pathology

Background:

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is crucial for breast cancer diagnosis.
• Intratumoral T2 signal intensity is a potential imaging biomarker.
• Understanding its correlation with tumor aggressiveness is vital for treatment planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare intratumoral T2 signal intensity on MRI with histopathological and molecular markers of aggressiveness in invasive breast cancer.
• To evaluate the association between T2 signal characteristics and prognostic factors such as histological grade, hormonal status, HER2, and Ki-67 expression.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 50 women with invasive breast cancer who underwent MRI.
• Consensus-based interpretation of intratumoral T2 signal intensity by two radiologists.
• Comparison of MRI findings with histopathological and molecular data from surgical specimens.
• Statistical analysis using Pearson chi-squared test (P ≤ 0.05).

Main Results:

• Hypointense T2 signal was observed in 62% of lesions.
• Hypointense lesions were significantly associated with low/intermediate histological grade (P=0.02).
• Hypointensity correlated with low HER2 overexpression (P=0.005) and high estrogen receptor (ER) (P=0.006) and progesterone receptor (PR) (P=0.02) status.
• No significant difference in Ki-67 expression was found between groups.

Conclusions:

• Intratumoral T2 hypointensity on MRI is a marker of better prognostic invasive breast cancer.
• This imaging feature is linked to favorable tumor characteristics, including low histological grade and high hormone receptor status.
• MRI T2 signal intensity may serve as a non-invasive tool to predict tumor aggressiveness.