Magnetization transfer imaging of ovarian cancer: initial experiences of correlation with tissue cellularity and changes following neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between magnetization transfer (MT) imaging and tissue macromolecules in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) and whether MT ratio (MTR) changes following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT).

Methods: This was a prospective observational study. 12 HGSOC patients were imaged before treatment.

Diffusion kurtosis MRI as a predictive biomarker of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in high grade serous ovarian cancer.

This study assessed the feasibility of using diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) as a measure of tissue heterogeneity and proliferation to predict the response of high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). Seventeen patients with HGSOC were imaged at 3 T and had biopsy samples taken prior to any treatment. The patients were divided into two groups: responders and non-responders based on Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumours (RECIST) criteria.

Sodium MRI with 3D-cones as a measure of tumour cellularity in high grade serous ovarian cancer.

The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of rapid sodium MRI (Na-MRI) for the imaging of peritoneal cancer deposits in high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) and to evaluate the relationship of Na-MRI with tumour cellularity. Na-MRI was performed at 3 T on twelve HGSOC patients using a 3D-cones acquisition technique. Tumour biopsies specimens were collected after imaging and cellularity was measured from histology.

Effects of Collection and Processing Procedures on Plasma Circulating Cell-Free DNA from Cancer Patients.

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) offers new opportunities for noninvasive cancer management. Detecting ctDNA in plasma is challenging because it constitutes only a minor fraction of the total cell-free DNA (cfDNA). Pre-analytical factors affect cfDNA levels contributed from leukocyte lysis, hence the ability to detect low-frequency mutant alleles.

Exploratory Analysis of TP53 Mutations in Circulating Tumour DNA as Biomarkers of Treatment Response for Patients with Relapsed High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) carrying tumour-specific sequence alterations may provide a minimally invasive means to dynamically assess tumour burden and response to treatment in cancer patients. Somatic TP53 mutations are a defining feature of high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC). We tested whether these mutations could be used as personalised markers to monitor tumour burden and early changes as a predictor of response and time to progression (TTP).

New paradigms for BRCA1/BRCA2 testing in women with ovarian cancer: results of the Genetic Testing in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (GTEOC) study.

Background: Over recent years genetic testing for germline mutations in BRCA1/BRCA2 has become more readily available because of technological advances and reducing costs.

Objective: To explore the feasibility and acceptability of offering genetic testing to all women recently diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).

Methods: Between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2015 women newly diagnosed with EOC were recruited through six sites in East Anglia, UK into the Genetic Testing in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (GTEOC) study.

Modelling DW-MRI data from primary and metastatic ovarian tumours.

Objectives: To assess goodness-of-fit and repeatability of mono-exponential, stretched exponential and bi-exponential models of diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) data in primary and metastatic ovarian cancer.

Methods: Thirty-nine primary and metastatic lesions from thirty-one patients with stage III or IV ovarian cancer were examined before and after chemotherapy using DW-MRI with ten diffusion-weightings. The data were fitted with (a) a mono-exponential model to give the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), (b) a stretched exponential model to give the distributed diffusion coefficient (DDC) and stretching parameter (α), and (c) a bi-exponential model to give the diffusion coefficient (D), perfusion fraction (f) and pseudodiffusion coefficient (D*).

Advanced ovarian cancer: multiparametric MR imaging demonstrates response- and metastasis-specific effects.

Purpose: To investigate the role of multiparametric magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the evaluation of response to platinum-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced ovarian cancer and to compare imaging parameters between primary ovarian mass and metastatic disease.

Materials And Methods: Evaluable patients suspected of having advanced ovarian carcinoma were enrolled in a prospective protocol-driven study. Research ethics committee approval and written informed consent were obtained.