Nina Tunariu1, David J. Collins1, Matthew Orton1, James A. d'Arcy1, Christina Messiou1, Veronica A. Morgan1, Sharon L. Giles1, Catherine J. Simpkin2, Nandita M. deSouz
1CR-UK and EPSRC Cancer Imaging Centre, Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, London, United Kingdom; 2CR-UK and EPSRC Cancer Imaging Centre, Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, United Kingdom
Dynamic contrast enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) has been successfully used as biomarker of angiogenic activity in preclinical and clinical trials. The time of arrival of the bolus (onset time) definition has a great influence on DCE parameter estimates and an incorrect onset time can lead to a strong bias. In our experience the automated methods can fail to detect an accurate onset time in cases of tumors that show low contrast uptake, and manual adjustment is essential. This study compares the effect of the onset time as detected using four different methods, on the DCE parameters estimates and their reproducibility.
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