Nissan Noam, Furman-Haran Edna, Shapiro-Feinberg Myra, Grobgeld Dov, Degani Hadassa
Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, P.O. Box 26, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel.
Diagnostic Imaging Department, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
J Mammary Gland Biol Neoplasia. 2017 Sep;22(3):193-202. doi: 10.1007/s10911-017-9383-x. Epub 2017 Jul 13.
Lactation and the return to the pre-conception state during post-weaning are regulated by hormonal induced processes that modify the microstructure of the mammary gland, leading to changes in the features of the ductal / glandular tissue, the stroma and the fat tissue. These changes create a challenge in the radiological workup of breast disorder during lactation and early post-weaning. Here we present non-invasive MRI protocols designed to record in vivo high spatial resolution, T-weighted images and diffusion tensor images of the entire mammary gland. Advanced imaging processing tools enabled tracking the changes in the anatomical and microstructural features of the mammary gland from the time of lactation to post-weaning. Specifically, by using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) it was possible to quantitatively distinguish between the ductal / glandular tissue distention during lactation and the post-weaning involution. The application of the T-weighted imaging and DTI is completely safe, non-invasive and uses intrinsic contrast based on differences in transverse relaxation rates and water diffusion rates in various directions, respectively. This study provides a basis for further in-vivo monitoring of changes during the mammary developmental stages, as well as identifying changes due to malignant transformation in patients with pregnancy associated breast cancer (PABC).
哺乳期以及断奶后恢复到孕前状态是由激素诱导的过程所调控的，这些过程会改变乳腺的微观结构，导致导管/腺组织、间质和脂肪组织的特征发生变化。这些变化给哺乳期和断奶后早期乳腺疾病的放射学检查带来了挑战。在此，我们展示了非侵入性MRI方案，旨在记录整个乳腺的高空间分辨率、T加权图像和扩散张量图像的活体情况。先进的成像处理工具能够追踪乳腺从哺乳期到断奶后的解剖和微观结构特征的变化。具体而言，通过使用扩散张量成像（DTI），可以定量区分哺乳期导管/腺组织的扩张和断奶后的退化。T加权成像和DTI的应用完全安全、非侵入性，且分别基于横向弛豫率和不同方向水扩散率的差异使用固有对比度。本研究为进一步活体监测乳腺发育阶段的变化以及识别妊娠相关乳腺癌（PABC）患者恶性转化引起的变化提供了基础。
