DWI in Assessing Treatment Response in Patients With Breast Cancer Receiving Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Diffusion Weighted MR Imaging Biomarkers for Assessment of Breast Cancer Response to Neoadjuvant Treatment: A Sub-study of the I-SPY 2 TRIAL (Investigation of Serial Studies to Predict Your Therapeutic Response With Imaging And MoLecular Analysis)

RATIONALE: Imaging procedures, such as diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI), may help in evaluating how well patients with breast cancer respond to treatment.

PURPOSE: This research trial studies DWI and DCE-MRI in assessing treatment response in patients with breast cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

• To determine if the change in tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value measured from each treatment timepoint to baseline is predictive of pathologic complete response (pCR).

Secondary

• To determine if the combined measurement of change in tumor ADC value, change in tumor volume, and change in peak signal-enhancement ratio (SER) is predictive of pCR.
• To investigate the relative effectiveness of the individual measurements, change in tumor ADC value, change in tumor volume, and change in peak SER for predicting pCR in experimental treatment arms.
• To assess the test-retest reproducibility of ADC metrics applied to breast tumors.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study.

Patients undergo diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) at baseline, after week 3 of neoadjuvant paclitaxel regimen, and prior to and after completion of 4 courses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Patients then undergo surgery. Patients undergo DWI prior to contrast administration for dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI).

After completion of treatment procedure, patients are followed up for 5 years on the I-SPY 2 TRIAL.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Meets I-SPY 2 TRIAL inclusion criteria

  • High-risk for recurrent disease

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Able to tolerate imaging required by protocol

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• Not specified