MR contrast patterns predict therapy response

The permeability of gadolinium and the morphology of breast cancers can reliably predict whether those tumors will benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy, according to a study by researchers at Duke University.

The vascularity of tumors and their reaction to blood-borne contrast predict a likely response to therapy. Tumors that were closely packed with cancer cells did not effectively retain contrast and were resistant to chemotherapy, said Oana Craciunescu, Ph.D., a Duke radiation oncologist, who reported the study results at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December.

Tumors in which the blood vessels formed a ring pattern around the center were also resistant to chemotherapy because collapsed blood vessels in the center would not carry the drug there. The best responders were homogeneous tumors in which blood vessels were evenly distributed throughout the tumor.