Monitoring neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer using quantitative diffuse optical spectroscopy: a case study

Presurgical chemotherapy is widely used in the treatment of locally advanced breast cancer. Monitoring the response to therapy can improve survival and reduce morbidity. We employ a noninvasive, near-infrared method based on diffuse optical spectroscopy (DOS) to quantitatively monitor tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. DOS was used to monitor tumor response in one patient with locally advanced breast cancer throughout the course of her therapy. Measurements were performed prior to doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide therapy and at several time points over the course of three treatment cycles (68 days). Our results show strong tumor to normal (T/N) tissue contrast in total hemoglobin concentration (T/N=2.4), water fraction (T/N=6.9), tissue hemoglobin oxygen saturation, S(t)O(2) (T/N=0.9), and lipid fraction (T/N=0.7) prior to treatment. Over a 10-week period, the peak total hemoglobin and water dropped 56 and 67%, respectively. Lipid content nearly returned to baseline (T/N =0.9) while S(t)O(2) exceeded pretreatment levels (T/N =1.5). Approximately half of the hemoglobin and water changes occurred within 5 days of treatment (26 and 37%, respectively). These data suggest that noninvasive, quantitative optical methods that characterize tumor physiology may be useful in assessing and optimizing individual response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.     

Diffuse optical monitoring of blood flow and oxygenation in human breast cancer during early stages of neoadjuvant chemotherapy

We combine diffuse optical spectroscopy (DOS) and diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) to noninvasively monitor early hemodynamic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in a breast cancer patient. The potential for early treatment monitoring is demonstrated. Within the first week of treatment (day 7) DOS revealed significant changes in tumor/normal contrast compared to pretreatment (day 0) tissue concentrations of deoxyhemoglobin (rctHHbT/N=69+/-21%), oxyhemoglobin (rctO2HbT/N=73+/-25%), total hemoglobin (rctTHbT/N=72+/-17%), and lipid concentration (rctLipidT/N=116+/-13%). Similarly, DCS found significant changes in tumor/normal blood flow contrast (rBFT/N=75+/-7% on day 7 with respect to day 0). Our observations suggest the combination of DCS and DOS enhances treatment monitoring compared to either technique alone. The hybrid approach also enables construction of indices reflecting tissue metabolic rate of oxygen, which may provide new insights about therapy mechanisms.     

Combined diffuse optical spectroscopy and contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for monitoring breast cancer neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a case study

Monitoring tumor response to therapy can enable assessment of treatment efficacy, maximizing patient outcome and survival. We employ a noninvasive, handheld laser breast scanner (LBS) based on broadband diffuse optical spectroscopy (DOS) in conjunction with contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) to assess tumor response to presurgical neoadjuvant chemotherapy. DOS and cMRI scans are performed after the first and fourth cycles of a doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide regimen in a patient with invasive ductal carcinoma. DOS measurements are used to quantify bulk tissue optical and physiological parameters, which are mapped to T2- and T1-weighted cMRI images. Initial DOS measurements show high tumor/normal contrast in total hemoglobin concentration (THC, 56+/-7 versus 27+/-4 microM) and water fraction (81.4+/-1% versus 24+/-3%) colocalized with regions of strongly enhancing T2-weighted and cMRI signals. After the fourth cycle of chemotherapy, we observe decreases in peak MRI contrast-enhancement values (37.6%) and apparent lesion volume (21.9 versus 13.7 cm3), which corresponds to physiological changes measured by DOS, including a 20 to 25% reduction in the spatial extent of the tumor and a 38.7% drop in mean total hemoglobin content (THC, 41.6 versus 23.4 microM). These data provide in vivo validation of the accuracy of broadband DOS and the sensitivity of optical methods to changes in tumor physiology.     

动态增强MRI对乳腺癌新辅助化疗的疗效评价及预测

【摘要】目的:探讨动态增强MRI评价和预测乳腺癌新辅助化疗（NAC）疗效的价值。方法:回顾性分析45例经手术病理 证实为浸润性乳腺癌并行术前NAC的患者资料。依据化疗前后组织病理学改变进行的疗效评价,将病人分为病理完全 缓解组和病理非完全缓解组。对比分析化疗前后两组动态增强MRI检查参数数值变化的差异,以病理反应性标准分组 为金标准,对其中有统计学意义的参数进行ROC曲线分析,并计算ROC曲线下面积（AUC）,评价各参数对NAC疗效的 评价效能,最后根据分析结果建立乳腺癌NAC疗效预测模型Logist P。结果:病理完全缓解组有16例患者,而病理非完 全缓解组有29例患者。两组间肿瘤最大经线变化率、肿瘤体积变化率、早期强化程度变化、时间信号强度曲线最大线性 斜率变化率、时间信号强度曲线类型的变化差异均有统计学意义（P<0.05）。最大经线变化率、肿瘤体积变化率、早期强化 程度变化、时间信号强度曲线最大线性斜率变化率、时间信号强度曲线类型的变化的AUC分别为0.711、0.759、0.711、 0.795、0.692,灵敏度/特异度分别为0.38/0.97、0.81/0.66、0.56/0.83、0.75/0.76、0.69/0.62,联合肿瘤体积变化率和最大线性 斜率变化率的Logist P模型的AUC为0.793（95%CI 0.644~0.942）。结论:早期动态增强MRI参数能用于评价和预测乳腺 癌NAC疗效。     

Phenotypic alterations in breast cancer associated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy: A comparison with baseline rates of change

Several studies have documented phenotypic alterations in breast cancer associated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy [NACT], but many of these studies are limited by the fact that they did not account for the baseline rate of expected phenotypic change between biopsies and resections in the absence of NACT. Herein, we assess whether the NACT-associated rate of phenotypic change is significantly different than would be expected in a control population of patients that did not receive NACT. From a pathologic database, we documented the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2/neu) phenotypes of consecutive invasive breast carcinomas (n = 826), as well as the subset in which at least one of these tests was assessed in both the biopsy and resection (n = 340). We then compared the rates of phenotypic change in the patients that did (n = 65) and did not (n = 275) receive NACT. Respectively, 49.2% and 36% of the NACT and non-NACT groups showed a biopsy-to-resection change in status for at least one biomarker (p = 0.0005). The NACT and non-NACT groups showed the following respective rates of a biopsy-to-resection change in phenotype: ER (9.2% vs 2.5%, p = 0.02); PR (30.7% vs 8%, p = 0.000006); Her2/neu-IHC (25% vs 22.3%, p = 0.7), Her2/neu-FISH (7% vs 3%, p = 0.6). The direction of change in the NACT group was positive in the biopsy to negative in the resection in > 70% of cases for all markers. For ER and PR, there was no statistically significant difference between cases that showed a biopsy-to-excision change in phenotype and those that were more phenotypically stable regarding a wide array of clinicopathologic variables. The average percentage of ER/PR-immunoreactive tumor cells in the pre-NACT biopsies was significantly lower in the phenotypically altered cases as compared to the phenotypically stable cases. Our findings confirm that phenotypic alterations in breast cancer occur after NACT, and that these changes are more pronounced for hormone receptors (especially PR); Significant NACT-associated alterations were not apparent for HER2/neu. A distinct pathologic profile for cases displaying a phenotypic change within the NACT group was not demonstrable. The pre-NACT levels of ER and PR may affect the likelihood of a phenotypic change. These results highlight the need for repeat testing in residual tumors after NACT.     

Angiogenic response of locally advanced breast cancer to neoadjuvant chemotherapy evaluated with parametric histogram from dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI

The aim of this study was to evaluate angiogenic compositions and tumour response in the course of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) using dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI. Thirteen patients with LABC underwent serial DCE MRI during the course of chemotherapy. DCE MRI was quantified using a two-compartment model on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Analysis of parametric histograms of amplitude, exchange rate k(out) and peak enhancement over the whole tumour was performed. The distribution patterns of histograms were correlated with the tumour response. Initial kurtosis and standard deviation of amplitude before chemotherapy correlated with tumour response, r = 0.63 and r = 0.61, respectively. Comparing the initial values with the values after the first course of chemotherapy, tumour response was associated with a decrease in standard deviation of amplitude (r = 0.79), and an increase in kurtosis and a decrease in standard deviation of k(out) (r = 0.57 and 0.57, respectively). Comparing the initial values with the values after completing the chemotherapy, tumours with better response were associated with an increase in kurtosis (r = 0.62), a decrease in mean (r = 0.84) and standard deviation (r = 0.77) of amplitude, and a decrease in mean of peak enhancement (r = 0.71). Our results suggested that tumours with better response tended to alter their internal compositions from heterogeneous to homogeneous distributions and a decrease in peak enhancement after chemotherapy. Serial analyses of parametric histograms of DCE MRI-derived angiogenic parameters are potentially useful to monitor the response of angiogenic compositions of a tumour throughout the course of chemotherapy, and might predict tumour response early in the course.     

Diffuse optical tomography with a priori anatomical information

Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) poses a typical ill-posed inverse problem with a limited number of measurements and inherently low spatial resolution. In this paper, we propose a hierarchical Bayesian approach to improve spatial resolution and quantitative accuracy by using a priori information provided by a secondary high resolution anatomical imaging modality, such as magnetic resonance (MR) or x-ray. In such a dual imaging approach, while the correlation between optical and anatomical images may be high, it is not perfect. For example, a tumour may be present in the optical image, but may not be discernable in the anatomical image. The proposed hierarchical Bayesian approach allows incorporation of partial a priori knowledge about the noise and unknown optical image models, thereby capturing the function-anatomy correlation effectively. We present a computationally efficient iterative algorithm to simultaneously estimate the optical image and the unknown a priori model parameters. Extensive numerical simulations demonstrate that the proposed method avoids undesirable bias towards anatomical prior information and leads to significantly improved spatial resolution and quantitative accuracy.     

乳腺癌新辅助化疗组织学疗效评价研究

目的 探讨乳腺癌新辅助化疗后根治标本的组织学疗效评价标准.方法 收集2005年6月至2007年6月乳腺癌新辅助化疗154例档案,其中改良根治术139例,保乳手术15例.化疗结束后4周内实施乳腺根治术.按照Miller and Payne(MP)分级系统的标准规范进行取材、制片和按该系统组织学疗效评价标准进行分级评价,同时与既往应用的肿瘤治疗反应评价系统(既往评价系统)进行比较.对所有病例进行常规随访.应用SPSS 13.0软件进行统计学处理.结果 (1)154例手术标本所获得的组织学疗效评价信息:MP分级系统1级12例(7.8%)、2级33例(21.4%)、3级64例(41.6%)、4级31例(20.1%)、5级14例(9.1%);既往评价系统分别为轻度治疗反应51例(33.1%)、中度治疗反应71例(46.1%)、重度治疗反应32例(20.8%).MP分级系统与既往评价系统各组病例比例之间存在统计学相关(X2=186.660,P<0.01).(2)154例患者中147例获得随访信息(95.5%),随访时间16～38个月;其中14例出现术后复发、远处转移或死亡.MP分级系统5个级别组与患者生存状态均相关(X2=11.612,P=0.020),既往评价系统3个级别组与患者生存状态均无关(X2=0.881,P=0.644).结论 MP分级系统可以用于肿瘤化疗后的组织学疗效评价,与预后相关.     

新辅助化疗乳腺癌病理标本的处理对策及报告规范

新辅助化疗(neoadjuvant clhemotherapy)是指在进行手术治疗前对肿瘤患者进行化疗的一种治疗方法.1973年,米兰癌症中心的研究者首先采用新辅助化疗对失去手术机会的乳腺癌患者进行治疗,以期缩小肿块从而使患者有机会接受手术或放射治疗 [1].与常规化疗相比,新辅助化疗具有以下一些特点:(1)约80%的患者化疗后肿块缩小,原本失去手术机会的乳腺癌患者可重获手术机会;一些原本需施行乳房全切除的患者可进行保乳治疗,虽然这些患者的局部复发率可能升高,但其存活率与先手术后化疗的患者相当.     

Longitudinal study of the assessment by MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging of tumor response in patients with locally advanced breast cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Measurements of tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), volume and diameter in assessing the response of patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) (n = 56) undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) at four time periods (before treatment and after three cycles of NACT) were carried out at 1.5 T using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and MRI. Ten benign tumors and 15 controls were also investigated. The MR tumor response was compared with the clinical response. Mean ADC before treatment of malignant breast tissue was significantly lower than that of controls, disease-free contralateral tissue of the patients, and benign lesions, and gradually increased during the course of NACT. Analysis of the percentage change in ADC, volume and diameter after each cycle of NACT between clinical responders and non-responders showed that the change in ADC after the first cycle was statistically significant compared with volume and diameter, indicating its potential in assessing early response. After the third cycle, the sensitivity for differentiating responders from non-responders was 89% for volume and diameter and 68% for ADC, and the respective specificities were 50%, 70% and 100%. A sensitivity of 84% (specificity of 60% with an accuracy of 76%) was achieved when all three variables were taken together to predict the response. A cut-off value of ADC was also calculated using receiver operator characteristics analysis to discriminate between normal, benign and malignant breast tissue. Similarly, a cut-off value for ADC, volume and diameter was obtained after the second and third cycles of NACT to predict tumor response. The results show that ADC is more useful for predicting early tumor response to NACT than morphological variables, suggesting its potential in effective treatment management.     

Diffuse optical tomography with physiological and spatial a priori constraints

Diffuse optical tomography is a typical inverse problem plagued by ill-condition. To overcome this drawback, regularization or constraining techniques are incorporated in the inverse formulation. In this work, we investigate the enhancement in recovering functional parameters by using physiological and spatial a priori constraints. More accurate recovery of the two main functional parameters that are the blood volume and the relative saturation is demonstrated through simulations by using our method compared to actual techniques.     

新辅助化疗对乳腺癌组织病理学及免疫组织化学的影响

目的:探讨新辅助化疗对乳腺癌组织病理学及免疫组织化学的影响.方法:观察术前经粗针吸活检(core needle biopsy,CNB)确诊的80例乳腺癌新辅助化疗后肿瘤标本的组织病理学改变,并分析其手术前后ER、PR、HER2等免疫表型的变化.结果:新辅助化疗对乳腺癌总显效率为67.5%,手术前后肿瘤组织的ER、PR、HER2总阳性表达率差异无显著性(P>0.05),但ER、PR、HER2均出现较高的不符合率,依次为45.0%、37.5%、12.5%.结论:新辅助化疗能有效地作用于肿瘤组织,并能帮助寻找术后有针对性的化疗方案;但对ER、PR、HER2等免疫标记有较大影响,可能会对术后选择内分泌治疗及靶向治疗造成不确定因素.     

乳腺癌新辅助化疗的临床意义和病理学评价

一、乳腺癌新辅助化疗的定义 自1990年以来,国内肿瘤外科医师借鉴国外乳腺癌治疗的先进经验,开始对可手术的乳腺癌治疗方案进行改革,在术前先行化疗,再施行改良根治术,这种新的治疗模式大大减少了乳腺癌根治术的使用,也降低了手术对患者身体的创伤程度,提高了患者的生活质量.     

Tandem high-dose chemotherapy in high-risk primary breast cancer: a multivariate analysis and a matched-pair comparison with standard-dose chemotherapy.

Stem cell-supported high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) is currently being evaluated in patients with high-risk primary breast cancer (HRPBC), as defined by extensive axillary lymph node involvement. Conclusive results from randomized studies with sufficient patient numbers and follow-up are pending. We retrospectively analyzed 144 HRPBC patients enrolled in a single-arm trial of tandem HDCT at the University of Heidelberg to evaluate the prognostic value of nodal ratio, HER2/neu status, and cytokeratin-positive bone marrow cells and to compare the outcomes of these patients with those of a conventionally treated control group of 91 patients matched by nodal ratio, tumor size, combined hormone-receptor status, and HER2/neu status. The tandem HDCT regimen consisted of 2 cycles of induction chemotherapy followed by 2 cycles of blood stem cell-supported high-dose ifosfamide, 12 g/m2; carboplatin, 900 mg/M2; and epirubicin, 180 mg/m2. Conventionally treated patients received a regimen containing anthracycline without taxanes (52 patients) or CMF (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5-flurouracil; 39 patients). With a median follow-up of 3.8 years, disease-free, distant disease-free, and overall survival rates were 62%, 65%, and 84%, respectively. In univariate analysis, besides the hormone receptor status (P = .007), HER2/neu overexpression was the strongest predictor of earlier death (P = .017). In multivariate analysis, a nodal ratio of > or =0.8 was found to be the only independent predictor of relapse (relative risk [RR] = 2.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21-3.60; P = .008) and only the absence of hormone receptors was associated with earlier death (RR = 3.59; 95% CI, 1.45-8.86; P = .006). Despite a trend toward later distant relapse after HDCT compared with standard-dose chemotherapy with a median follow-up of 3 years (P = .059), thus far, matched-pair analysis has not demonstrated significantly better survival rates after HDCT in all matched patients (P = .786) or in the subgroups of anthracycline-treated patients and patients with and without overexpression of HER2/neu. So far, the follow-up time has been too short to draw definite conclusions; however, patients with a nodal ratio of > or =0.8, receptor-negative tumors, or HER2/neu overexpression are at high risk for relapse and death, irrespective of the kind of adjuvant chemotherapy.     

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes are important pathologic predictors for neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy or preoperative systemic therapy is increasingly considered for patients with operable breast cancer. Patients with breast cancer were examined for pathologic factors predictive of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, using an anthracycline-based regimen. For clinical histomorphology and biomarkers, factors were compared among 16 pathologically complete responses and 52 nonpathologically complete responses, using univariate analysis and multivariate regression analysis of principal components, using preneoadjuvant chemotherapy needle biopsy samples as follows: degree of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, histologic grade, biology-based tumor type (hormone receptors and HER2 [human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2]), age, clinical TNM stage, and TNM staging. In univariate analysis, high tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte, high histologic grade, and hormone receptors(-)/HER2(+) were significantly associated with pathologically complete responses (93.7%, P < .0001; 81.3%, P = .0206; 43.7%, P = .014, respectively). In multivariate principal component regression analysis, high tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes were the best independent predictor for pathologically complete responses (odds ratio, 4.7; confidence interval, 2.2-10.06; P < .0001). Among tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and biology-based tumor types, patients with high tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes had pathologically complete responses more than nonpathologically complete responses, especially in the hormone receptors(-)/HER2(+) group. Among high tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte cases, T lymphocytes showed more predominant tendency than B lymphocytes in the pathologically complete responses cases, compared with nonpathologically complete responses cases. These findings indicate that high tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes are important predictors of pathologically complete responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, especially in the hormone receptors(-)/HER2(+) group.     

Tumor bed extending to margins in breast cancer specimens after neoadjuvant chemotherapy: Incidence and clinical significance

BackgroundPathologic examination of post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) breast surgical specimens includes assessment of margins. It has been recommended that tumor bed (TB) changes extending to margins should be documented; however, its' incidence and clinical significance have not yet been established. The aim of our study was to gather prognostic data on this histological finding.DesignWe retrospectively identified all cases where TB was reported at margin. Cases where margins were also positive for invasive carcinoma or DCIS were excluded.ResultsFrom 2016 to 2019, 115 cases of NAC treated breast cancers were identified with 21 having at least one margin positive for TB after initial surgery (incidence of 18.3 %). Five cases were estrogen receptor (ER)-/HER2-, 9 were HER2+ and 7 were ER+/HER2-. Nineteen patients underwent partial mastectomy and 2 underwent total mastectomy. Nine patients had a pathological complete response (pCR).Ten cases had more than one positive margin for TB. None of the 21 patients underwent a second surgery for margin re-excision. Twenty patients received adjuvant therapy. With an average follow-up of 28.1 months, there has been one local recurrence. Four other patients developed metastatic disease, one of which died of the disease. The rates of locoregional and distant recurrence and mortality were statistically similar to those from patients whose margins were negative for TB.ConclusionsOur results suggest low risk of local recurrence when a positive margin for TB is not re-excised. Further data and follow-up will be needed to confirm the adequacy of conservative management in this setting.     

核芯针活检在乳腺癌新辅助化疗前的组织学诊断评价

目的 评价核芯针活检(CNB)作为乳腺癌新辅助化疗前组织病理学诊断依据的价值.方法 收集2005年6月至2007年1月本院人组新辅助化疗患者119例,化疗前以CNB作为组织学诊断依据;化疗后乳腺改良根治标本按Miller和Payne分级系统标准取材;每例化疗前后病理切片均由两名主检医师双盲法独立诊断,并比较其诊断的符合率.结果 CNB诊断为癌110例,其中浸润性癌105例,导管内癌5例.治疗前后浸润性癌的诊断符合率为97.2%(105108).结论 CNB在乳腺癌新辅助化疗术前对于明确病变的良恶性具有诊断优势,对鉴别肿瘤组织是否为浸润性癌具有重要参考价值.