Unlocking Chemotherapy Success: The Role of Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Breast Cancer Treatment.

This study investigates the role of Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) in predicting the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in patients with locally advanced breast cancer. A Diffusion Tensor Imaging magnetic resonance imaging (DTI MRI) sequence, evaluating water diffusion along tissue structures, was performed before and after two chemotherapy cycles. This study included 23 patients with 27 malignant masses, comparing changes in DTI parameters with Residual Cancer Burden (RCB) scores.

Predicting the Early Response to Neoadjuvant Therapy with Breast MR Morphological, Functional and Relaxometry Features-A Pilot Study.

Aim: To evaluate the role of MR relaxometry and derived proton density analysis in the prediction of early treatment response after two cycles of neoadjuvant therapy (NAT), in patients with breast cancer. Methods: This was a prospective study that included 59 patients with breast cancer, who underwent breast MRI prior (MRI1) and after two cycles of NAT (MRI2). The MRI1 included a sequential acquisition with five different TE’s (50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 ms) and a TR of 5000 ms.

Radiomic Signatures Derived from Hybrid Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Images (CEUS) for the Assessment of Histological Characteristics of Breast Cancer: A Pilot Study.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of radiomic features extracted from standardized hybrid contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) data for the assessment of hormone receptor status, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status, tumor grade and Ki-67 in patients with primary breast cancer.

Methods: This prospective study included 72 patients with biopsy-proven breast cancer who underwent CEUS examinations between October 2020 and September 2021.

Results: A radiomic analysis found the WavEnHH_s_4 parameter as an independent predictor associated with the HER2+ status with 76.

Comparison of Linear and Convex-Array Transducers in Assessing the Enhancement Characteristics of Suspicious Breast Lesions at Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS).

The purpose of this study was to determine the observer agreement in assessing the enhancement pattern of suspicious breast lesions with contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) using high and low frequency transducers. Methods: This prospective study included 70 patients with suspicious breast lesions detected at mammography and/or ultrasound and classified according to the American College of Radiology (ACR) Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) in 4A, 4B, 4C, or 5, who underwent CEUS examinations between October 2020 and August 2021. Results: Participants’ ages ranged from 28 to 83 years (48.

Associating Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS) and Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) with Full-Field Digital Mammography (FFDM) in Clinical Practice in Cases of Women with Dense Breast Tissue.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the value of full-field digital mammography (FFDM) and automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) in the diagnosis of breast cancer compared to FFDM associated with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). Methods: This retrospective study included 50 female patients with a denser framework of connective tissue fibers, characteristic of young women who underwent FFDM, DBT, handheld ultrasound (HHUS), and ABUS between January 2017 and October 2018. The sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of FFDM+ABUS were 81.

Correlation between Volumes Determined by Echocardiography and Cardiac MRI in Controls and Atrial Fibrillation Patients.

Aims: We aimed to compare cardiac volumes measured with echocardiography (echo) and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a mixed cohort of healthy controls (controls) and patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).

Materials And Methods: In total, 123 subjects were included in our study; 99 full datasets were analyzed. All the participants underwent clinical evaluation, EKG, echo, and cardiac MRI acquisition.

Pros and Cons for Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS): A Narrative Review.

Automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) is an ultrasound technique that tends to be increasingly used as a supplementary technique in the evaluation of patients with dense glandular breasts. Patients with dense breasts have an increased risk of developing breast cancer compared to patients with fatty breasts. Furthermore, for this group of patients, mammography has a low sensitivity in detecting breast cancers, especially if it is not associated with architectural distortion or calcifications.

Differentiating Breast Tumors from Background Parenchymal Enhancement at Contrast-Enhanced Mammography: The Role of Radiomics-A Pilot Reader Study.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the radiomic analysis of contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) in discriminating between breast cancers and background parenchymal enhancement (BPE).

Methods: This retrospective study included 38 patients that underwent CESM examinations for clinical purposes between January 2019-December 2020. A total of 57 malignant breast lesions and 23 CESM examinations with 31 regions of BPE were assessed through radiomic analysis using MaZda software.

Pros and cons for breast cancer screening with tomosynthesis - a review of the literature.

Breast cancer screening programs using mammography proved their value in detecting breast cancer at early stages and, consequently, reducing the mortality from this disease. Due to the technological progress, the screening programs have shifted from screen-film mammography to digital mammography and nowadays digital breast tomosynthesis became the focus of breast imaging research. Using tomosynthesis in screening increases cancer detection rates and decreases recall and false-positive rates, thus improving the effectiveness of breast cancer screening programs, with positive consequences on health care costs and on patient psychology.

Pectoralis muscle metastases from breast cancer in a young patient detected by automated breast ultrasound.

Metastases to the skeletal muscle from breast cancer represent an unusual and rare condition. We present the case of a 27-year-old female with left breast cancer (IDC NST G3) who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by conservativesurgery (sectorectomy and lymphadenectomy) and radiation therapy. Two months after the end of radiotherapy she presented with a 2 mm skin lesion and she was referred for a screening ultrasound.

Fibroadenomas and breast carcinoma: a possible answer to a frequently asked question. A pictorial essay.

Fibroadenomas (FAs) are the most frequently encountered benign breast lesions in young women and due to the age of the patients, they are usually diagnosed by ultrasound. Although they rarely undergo malignant transformation, the patients remain concerned about the possibility of malignant transformation. The aim of this pictorial essay is to illustrate the appearance of classic and complex fibroadenomas, to discuss the risk factors and to highlight the imaging characteristics that raise the suspicion of malignant transformation.

Breast cystic lesions: Not so simple after all? An ultrasonographic tactical approach.

A wide spectrum of breast diseases breast diseases have or exhibit at some point in their natural history a complex cystic aspect. Through the lens of B-mode and Doppler ultrasound with sonoelastographic augmentation, conditions ranging from the utterly benign fibrocystic change to the most intricate encysted or cystically degenerated cancerous lesions, are covered in detail in this review. The aim of this paper is to familiarize the practitioner with the ultrasonographic aspects of complex breast cystic masses and to implement a gradual, strategic approach in the diagnostic algorithm.

Diagnostic value of apparent diffusion coefficient in differentiating between high-grade gliomas and brain metastases.

Background High-grade gliomas (HGGs) and brain metastases (BMs) can display similar imaging characteristics on conventional MRI. In HGGs, the peritumoral edema may be infiltrated by the malignant cells, which was not observed in BMs. Purpose To determine whether the apparent diffusion coefficient values could differentiate HGGs from BMs.

Breast Involvement in Pure Cutaneous Rosai-Dorfman Disease: Ultrasound and Sonoelastography Appearance With a Review of the Literature.

Rosai-Dorfman disease or sinus histiocytosis of the lymph nodes is a rare, idiopathic, and benign disorder. Painless lymphadenopathy is the most frequent systemic presenting symptom and involves the cervical region in up to 90% of the patients. Extranodal involvement is less common and can represent the initial or the only presentation of the disease.

Ultrasound in the diagnosis of papillary breast lesions.

Papillary lesions are defined as an amalgam of various lesions which represent a diagnostic challenge, for both the radiologist and pathologist. They are diagnosed on the basis of a combination of clinical, imaging, and pathological findings and their features carry differing prognostic implications for the affected patients. The aim of this pictorial essay is to review the clinical and pathological findings in papillary breast lesions, to show the advantages and limits of each imaging method in their diagnosis with emphasis on the importance of ultrasound in the differential diagnosis.

Comparative study of three sonoelastographic scores for differentiation between benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to explore the diagnostic value of three different sonoelastographic scoring systems (labeled S1-S3) for the differentiation between benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes.

Materials And Method: The authors propose a six pattern scoring system of the elastographic images with pattern 1 - representing purely soft nodes, pattern 2 - predominantly soft nodes, pattern 3 - predominantly soft nodes with focal had area, pattern 4 - predominantly hard node, pattern 5 - entirely hard node and pattern 6 - node with necrosis. The sonoelastographic images of 50 benign and 70 malignant lymph nodes were assessed.

The role of ultrasound in the imaging assessment of the augmented breast. A pictorial review.

The imaging evaluation of the augmented breast is becoming more and more frequent in daily practice. Even if mammography remains the golden standard for breast cancer screening, ultrasound is used as a first step investigation in young symptomatic patients or as a screening tool in detecting pathology related to the implants. This pictorial essay reviews the indications and limitations of the imaging methods and illustrates the normal and pathological ultrasound findings in the augmented breast.