Reliable and sensitive methods for assessing the response of breast cancer to treatment are critical for rapid selection of the most appropriate therapy for individual patients, and development of novel therapies. Paclitaxel has been reported to slow/block mitosis at the metaphase-anaphase transition and induce apoptosis, leading to cell shrinkage and membrane breakdown. Using a biophysical model that allows derivation of microstructural parameters (e.g., cell size d) and an indicator of the intracellular water lifetime (τin ) from the tdiff dependence of diffusion MRI signals, we monitored the treatment response of breast cancer in both cell cultures and solid tumors in vivo.
This abstract and the presentation materials are available to members only; a login is required.