Imaging Microstructural Parameters of Breast Tumor in Patient Using Time-Dependent Diffusion: A Feasibility Study.

Area of Science:

• Radiology and Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering
• Oncology

Background:

• Breast MRI is crucial for tumor characterization.
• Distinguishing malignant from benign breast tumors non-invasively remains a challenge.
• Quantitative diffusion MRI parameters can offer insights into tissue microstructure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of time-dependent diffusion MRI in clinical breast imaging.
• To evaluate the ability of quantitative microstructural mapping to characterize cellular properties of breast tumors.
• To differentiate between malignant and benign breast lesions using diffusion MRI.

Main Methods:

• Diffusion MRI was performed using PGSE and OGSE sequences on 38 patients with 45 lesions.
• Microstructural parameters (cellularity, extracellular diffusivity, cell size, intracellular volume fraction, ADC) were calculated.
• Statistical analyses (t-test, ROC curve analysis) were used to compare parameters between malignant and benign tumors.

Main Results:

• Malignant tumors showed significantly lower diameter, extracellular diffusivity (Dex), and ADC values (ADC0Hz, ADC25Hz, ADC50Hz) compared to benign tumors.
• Malignant tumors exhibited significantly higher intracellular volume fraction (νin) and cellularity.
• Cellularity achieved the highest AUC (0.936) for differentiating tumor types; combined parameters yielded an AUC of 0.969.

Conclusions:

• Time-dependent diffusion MRI provides valuable microstructural information for differentiating benign and malignant breast tumors.
• Diffusion MRI parameters can serve as a non-invasive tool to assess internal tissue structures.
• This technique holds potential for improved breast lesion characterization in clinical practice.