Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 1, 2025
Tracking the Mammary Architectural Features and Detecting Breast Cancer with Magnetic Resonance Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Published on: December 15, 2014
Pilot study: A simple CAD-based tool to detect breast cancer on MRI of the breast
Barbara I Bennani-Baiti1, Michael Weber2, Maria Bernathova2
1Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30, Krems 3500, Austria; Department of Radiology, University Hospital Krems, Mitterweg 10, Krems 3500, Austria; Division of General and Pediatric Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, Vienna 1090, Austria.
Purpose:
This pilot-study aims to assess, whether quantitatively assessed enhancing breast tissue as a percentage of the entire breast volume can serve as an indicator of breast cancer at breast MRI and whether the contrast-agent employed affects diagnostic efficacy.
Materials:
This retrospective IRB-approved study, included 39 consecutive patients, that underwent two subsequent breast MRI exams for suspicious findings at conventional imaging with 0.1 mmol/kg gadobenic and gadoteric acid. Two independent readers, blinded to the histopathological outcome, assessed unenhanced and early post-contrast images using computer-assisted software (Brevis, Siemens Healthcare). Diagnostic performance was statistically determined for percentage of ipsilateral voxel volume enhancement and for percentage of contralateral enhancing voxel volume subtracted from ipsilateral enhancing voxel volume after crosstabulation with the dichotomized histological outcome (benign/malignant).
Results:
Ipsilateral enhancing voxel volume versus histopathological outcome resulted in an AUC of 0.707 and 0.687 for gadobenic acid, reader 1 and 2, respectively and in an AUC of 0.778 and 0.773 for gadoteric acid, reader 1 and 2, respectively. Accounting for background parenchymal enhancement by subtracting contralateral enhancing volume from ipsilateral enhancing voxel volume versus histolopathological outcome resulted in an AUC of 0.793 and 0.843 for gadobenic acid, reader 1 and 2, respectively and in an AUC of 0.692 and 0.662 for gadoteric acid, reader 1 and 2, respectively. Pairwise testing yielded no statistically significant difference both between readers and between contrast agents employed (p > 0.05).
Conclusion:
Our proposed CAD algorithm, which quantitatively assesses enhancing breast tissue as a percentage of the entire breast volume, allows indicating the presence of breast cancer.
