Detection of breast cancer lesions using APT weighted MRI: a systematic review.

Amide proton transfer (APT) is a novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that has shown promising ability to study cancers. This paper systematically reviewed the literature on the use of APT MRI in the prognosis of breast cancer. A literature search was conducted on Pubmed and Embase and a total of 14 articles comprising 775 patients were included in the review. APT MRI had the ability to distinguish between benign and malignant lesions with an AUC as high as 0.959. There is a positive correlation between APT signal intensity and tumor grade/stage as well as Ki-67, whereas no correlation was found with ER/PR/Her-2 receptor status. There was a greater decrease in APT signal intensity after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in responders compared to non-responders, suggesting that APT MRI may serve as a valuable supplemental tool in the early identification of chemotherapy response. APT has the potential to complement with other imaging methods in the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment monitoring, and management of breast cancer. Additional studies and standardization of APT acquisition methods are needed.