Min Sun Bae MD, PhD, Presenter: Nothing to Disclose

Sung Ui Shin MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

A Jung Chu MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Won Hwa Kim MD, PhD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Su Hyun Lee MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Woo Kyung Moon, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Nariya Cho MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Sung Eun Song MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

To evaluate whether pretreatment MRI findings were distinguishable between responders and non-responders in triple-negative (ER-/PR/-HER2-) breast cancer (TNBC) patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy.  

IRB-approved retrospective review of our database identified 113 TNBC patients who underwent pretreatment breast MRI and neoadjuvant chemotherapy between January 2005 and December 2009. Two experienced breast radiologists reviewed MRI and mammograms without knowledge of clinicopathologic findings based on BI-RADS lexicon. All interpretations were agreed upon prior to being recorded. Pathologic complete response (pCR) was defined as the absence of invasive tumor cells in the resected breast specimen. Twenty-two (19.5%) patients achieved pCR and 91 (80.5%) showed non-pCR. Association of pCR status with imaging features was assessed using Fisher’s exact test or the chi-squared test.

Median age was 43 years for both pCR and non-pCR groups. Breast cancer stage at presentation was not significantly different between the groups (p = 0.065). Irregular-shaped masses (p < 0.001, 96.7% vs 31.8% [non-pCR vs pCR]), irregular-marginated masses (p < 0.001, 93.4% vs 63.6%), presence of intratumoral high signal intensity on T2-weighted image (p = 0.002, 68.1% vs 31.8%), multifocality or multicentricity (p = 0.002, 39.6% vs 4.5%), and masses with calcifications seen on mammography (p = 0.043, 34.1% vs 13.6%) were significantly associated with non-pCR in TNBC patients. Features not statistically associated with pCR status included an internal enhancement pattern (p = 0.614), fibroglandular tissue on MRI (p = 0.651), background parenchymal enhancement (p = 0.319), and lymph node enlargement (p = 0.182).

Pretreatment MRI features in TNBC patients were shown to differ between responders and non-responders to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

This study demonstrates that TNBC response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy could be predicted using pretreatment MRI features.

Bae, M, Shin, S, Chu, A, Kim, W, Lee, S, Moon, W, Cho, N, Song, S, Pathologic Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Triple-negative Breast Cancer: Association with Pretreatment Breast MRI Features.  Radiological Society of North America 2014 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, - ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2014/14017704.html