Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Radiology Institute, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Campus, Petah Tiqwa, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Eur J Radiol. 2010 Aug;75(2):e9-11. doi: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2009.10.020. Epub 2009 Nov 18.
Breasts with malignant tumors can demonstrate a general increased vascularity compared to the contralateral breast and a prominent blood vessel adjacent to the tumor on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The aim of the study was to further characterize these alterations in blood supply by location of the tumor within the breast using MRI.
The study group included 105 patients who underwent breast MRI for suspicion of a malignancy over a 2-year period. Fifty-one had pathologically verified malignant tumors (study group), 11 had pathologically verified benign lesions (control), and 43 had negative scans (control). The malignant lesions were distinguished by location, medial or lateral, within the breast. Origin of the vascular supply and vessel diameter was recorded in a blinded manner. When available, MRI scans performed 2 years after treatment were reviewed as well.
Of the 24 medial malignant tumors, 21 (87%) had a predominantly medial vascular supply and 3 (13%), a predominantly lateral supply; of the 23 lateral tumors, 11 (48%) had a predominantly medial vascular supply and 8 (35%), a predominantly lateral supply (p=0.03). In 4 cases, no dominant vessel was noted. Maximum vessel diameter was 3.6+/-1.1mm in the patients with malignancy and 2.6 +/- 0.8mm in the controls (p<0.0005). General increased vascularity was demonstrated in 91% of the medial tumor subgroup and 83% of the lateral tumor subgroup, as opposed to 36-37% in the control groups (p<0.0005). Follow-up MRI, performed in 8 patients in the malignant-tumor group after treatment, revealed a considerable decrease in the prominent vessels, to a size close to that of the controls.
Breasts with malignant tumors are characterized by an altered general vascular supply, a prominent feeding vessel, and increased regional vascularity. Both the presence and location of the tumor affect the vascular supply. The vascular change apparently diminishes after treatment, although this finding requires further investigation in a larger sample.
与对侧乳房相比，恶性肿瘤乳房的整体血管增多，并且磁共振成像（MRI）上肿瘤旁可见突出的血管。本研究旨在通过乳房内肿瘤位置进一步描述这些血液供应变化。
本研究组包括 105 例在 2 年内因怀疑恶性肿瘤而行乳腺 MRI 的患者。其中 51 例经病理证实为恶性肿瘤（研究组），11 例为病理证实的良性病变（对照组），43 例为阴性扫描（对照组）。恶性病变按位置分为乳房内的内侧或外侧。盲法记录血管供应的来源和血管直径。如果有，还会回顾治疗后 2 年的 MRI 扫描。
24 例内侧恶性肿瘤中，21 例（87%）主要为内侧血管供应，3 例（13%）为外侧供应；23 例外侧肿瘤中，11 例（48%）主要为内侧血管供应，8 例（35%）为外侧供应（p=0.03）。4 例无主要血管。恶性肿瘤患者的最大血管直径为 3.6+/-1.1mm，对照组为 2.6 +/- 0.8mm（p<0.0005）。内侧肿瘤亚组中 91%，外侧肿瘤亚组中 83%显示整体血管增多，而对照组中为 36-37%（p<0.0005）。在恶性肿瘤组的 8 例患者中，对治疗后进行的后续 MRI 显示，突出血管明显减少，大小接近对照组。
恶性肿瘤乳房的特征是整体血管供应改变、突出的供血血管和区域性血管增多。肿瘤的存在和位置都会影响血管供应。血管变化在治疗后明显减少，尽管这一发现需要在更大的样本中进一步研究。
