Nima Nabavizadeh1,2, Catherine Klifa1, David Newitt1, Ying Lu1, Jona Hattangadi3, Clark Fisher2, Nola Hylton1, Catherine Park2
1Radiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; 2Radiation Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; 3Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
In this study, we hypothesized that abnormalities in vasculature exist within the histologically normal appearing periphery of breast tumors that can be detected by measuring changes in MR enhancement intensity. Using breast tissue proximity maps and percent enhancement values obtained from dynamic contrast-enhanced MRIs, we found that the normal breast stroma within 0 to 2cm of a primary tumor exhibits higher enhancement levels than stroma located far from the tumor region. These results suggest that tissue surrounding the tumor region may contain vasculature abnormalities or tumor-related angiogenesis, which could potentially help refine surgery and radiation therapy for breast cancer.