Early DCE-MRI Findings Predict Tumor Volume Changes

Edward Ashton¹

This study examines the relationship between early DCE-MRI findings and later changes in tumor burden as measured by structural CT or MRI for cancer patients undergoing anti-vascular or anti-angiogenic therapy. In particular, it addresses the question of whether reductions in blood flow and vascular permeability observed within the first two weeks of treatment are predictive of changes in tumor burden after 8 weeks. The data set includes 164 patients drawn from 13 clinical trials using a largely uniform data acquisition and analysis protocol. Results show a probability of tumor reduction of 70% in DCE-MRI responders vs. 26% for DCE-MRI non-responders.