Detection and quantification of breast tumor necrosis with MR imaging: Value of the necrosis-avid contrast agent Gadophrin-3

Stephan Metz, Heike E. Daldrup-Link, Thomas Richter, Christoph Räth, Wolfgang Ebert, Marcus Settles, Ernst J. Rummeny, Thomas M. Link, Morand Piert

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

50 Scopus citations

Abstract

Rationale and Objectives. The authors evaluated the use of T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with Gadophrin-3 enhancement and of plain T2-weighted MR imaging to detect and quantify breast tumor necrosis. Materials and Methods. Twenty EMT-6 tumors (mouse mammary sarcoma), implanted into the mammary fat pad of BALB/c-AnNCrl mice, underwent MR imaging with plain T2-weighted and T1-weighted fast field echo sequences before and 24 hours after injection of Gadophrin-3, a new necrosis-avid contrast agent. Tumor necrosis on MR images was quantified by means of a dedicated segmentation program and was correlated with histologic findings. Results. In all tumors a central necrosis was revealed by histopathologic analysis, and central enhancement was seen with Gadophrin-3 on T1-weighted images. Small tumors (diameter, <1 cm) showed an inhomogeneous central enhancement, whereas larger tumors (diameter, >1 cm) enhanced mainly in the periphery of necrotic tissue. Plain T2-weighted images showed a hyperintense central area in only three of 20 cases with a large central necrosis. Conclusion. Gadophrin-3-enhanced T1-weighted images are superior to plain T2-weighted images for the detection of necrosis in a murine tumor xenograft model.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)484-490
Number of pages7
JournalAcademic Radiology
Volume10
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 May 2003

Keywords

  • Breast neoplasms, MR
  • Breast neoplasms, experimental studies
  • Magnetic resonance (MR), contrast enhancement
  • Magnetic resonance (MR), contrast media
  • Porphyrin

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