Department of Radiology, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel.
Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Eur Radiol. 2023 May;33(5):3744-3753. doi: 10.1007/s00330-023-09560-w. Epub 2023 Mar 28.
To investigate the clinical relevance of the relaxation times of lipids within breast cancer and normal fibroglandular tissue in vivo, using magnetic resonance spectroscopic fingerprinting (MRSF).
Twelve patients with biopsy-confirmed breast cancer and 14 healthy controls were prospectively scanned at 3 T using a protocol consisting of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), MRSF, and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI. Single-voxel MRSF data was recorded from the tumor (patients) - identified using DTI - or normal fibroglandular tissue (controls), in under 20 s. MRSF data was analyzed using in-house software. Linear mixed model analysis was used to compare the relaxation times of lipids in breast cancer VOIs vs. normal fibroglandular tissue.
Seven distinguished lipid metabolite peaks were identified and their relaxation times were recorded. Of them, several exhibited statistically significant changes between controls and patients, with strong significance (p < 10) recorded for several of the lipid resonances at 1.3 ppm (T = 355 ± 17 ms vs. 389 ± 27 ms), 4.1 ppm (T = 255 ± 86 ms vs. 127 ± 33 ms), 5.22 ppm (T = 724 ± 81 ms vs. 516 ± 62 ms), and 5.31 ppm (T = 56 ± 5 ms vs. 44 ± 3.5 ms, respectively).
The application of MRSF to breast cancer imaging is feasible and achievable in clinically relevant scan time. Further studies are required to verify and comprehend the underling biological mechanism behind the differences in lipid relaxation times in cancer and normal fibroglandular tissue.
•The relaxation times of lipids in breast tissue are potential markers for quantitative characterization of the normal fibroglandular tissue and cancer. •Lipid relaxation times can be acquired rapidly in a clinically relevant manner using a single-voxel technique, termed MRSF. •Relaxation times of T at 1.3 ppm, 4.1 ppm, and 5.22 ppm, as well as of T at 5.31 ppm, were significantly different between measurements within breast cancer and the normal fibroglandular tissue.
利用磁共振波谱指纹技术（MRSF），研究体内乳腺癌与正常纤维腺体组织中脂质弛豫时间的临床相关性。
对 12 名经活检证实的乳腺癌患者和 14 名健康对照者进行前瞻性 3T 扫描，扫描方案包括扩散张量成像（DTI）、MRSF 和动态对比增强（DCE）MRI。通过 DTI 识别肿瘤（患者）或正常纤维腺体组织（对照者），在 20 秒内从单个体素中采集 MRSF 数据。使用内部软件分析 MRSF 数据。采用线性混合模型分析比较乳腺癌病变区（VOI）与正常纤维腺体组织中脂质的弛豫时间。
共识别出 7 个不同的脂质代谢峰，并记录了它们的弛豫时间。其中，一些在对照组和患者之间存在统计学上显著的变化，其中一些脂质共振峰的变化具有很强的统计学意义（p<10），如 1.3ppm（T=355±17ms 比 389±27ms）、4.1ppm（T=255±86ms 比 127±33ms）、5.22ppm（T=724±81ms 比 516±62ms）和 5.31ppm（T=56±5ms 比 44±3.5ms）。
MRSF 应用于乳腺癌成像具有可行性，且在临床相关的扫描时间内是可实现的。需要进一步的研究来验证和理解癌症和正常纤维腺体组织中脂质弛豫时间差异的潜在生物学机制。
乳腺组织中脂质的弛豫时间可能是正常纤维腺体组织和癌症定量特征的潜在标志物。
使用单个体素技术（称为 MRSF），可以快速获得临床相关的脂质弛豫时间。
在乳腺癌与正常纤维腺体组织之间的测量中，T 在 1.3ppm、4.1ppm 和 5.22ppm 处的弛豫时间，以及 T 在 5.31ppm 处的弛豫时间有显著差异。
