Prospective, observational cohort study looking at patients either at risk of breast cancer or have clinically suspected breast to assess the diagnostic performance of quantitative, non-contrast MRI.
It is widely recognised that mammography is highly sensitive for detecting breast lesions and a valuable tool for early detection of breast cancer, especially in post-menopausal women with non-dense breast tissue. On post-menopausal non-dense breast tissue, mammography is 90% effective at identifying breast tumours. However, for dense breast tissue, the sensitivity falls to 67%. This means that for women with dense breast tissue, which includes almost all pre-menopausal women and many post- menopausal women, mammography misses one third of tumours. MRI is the imaging method of choice for detecting breast cancer in women with dense breast tissue however the standard MRI for breast cancer investigation typically uses gadolinium contrast agent. This method is called dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) MRI and identifies localised regions of (neo)vascularity, which indicates a cancerous lesion. Although DCE can provide valuable information about the tissue, it is often not performed well, is poorly tolerated by patients, and adds additional time to the scan protocol. Perspectum conducted a recent study demonstrating that liver cancer lesions can be identified using quantitative T1 maps calculated form multiparametric MRI data. Applying this MRI method to breast imaging, would potentially provide a method of identifying breast cancer lesions without using a contrast agent, reducing the scan time and eliminating the need for an intravenous contrast. The aim of this study is to apply quantitative multiparametric MRI techniques to the area of breast imaging with the aim of developing a contrast-free MR scan which can diagnose the spectrum of breast disease referred to a secondary care breast clinic, including in women with dense breasts.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
1,030
Participation in the study includes up to a maximum of 2 study visits. The visits will include clinical measurements (height, weight, blood pressure), blood tests, MRI scan and patient symptoms and experience questionnaires. There will be no medical interventions as part of the study. All participants will receive standard-of-care by their healthcare provider/s. With the participant's consent, the participant's primary care physician will be made aware of their participation in the study. Furthermore, participants will be informed of any structural abnormalities found in the MRI scan (e.g. abnormal vessels, haemangioma, tumour, cyst, among others) and abnormal blood test results as these may have clinical implications. These will be managed by the routine clinical care team as part of standard care.
Gemini One
Oxford, United Kingdom
Determine the diagnostic performance of a non-contrast MRI in breast disease
Mapping multi-parametric algorithms and assessing diagnostic performance compared to standard of care using area under the receiver operative curve (AUROC)
Time frame: 36 months
Qualitatively assess the participant experience of identifying breast disease using non-contrast MRI
Provide participants with a non validated questionnaire and summarise feedback on MR techniques compared to standard of care
Time frame: 36 months
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