Prognostic Significance of Transverse Relaxation Rate (R2*) in Blood Oxygenation Level-Dependent Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients with Invasive Breast Cancer

Abstract

Objective To examine the relationship between magnetic resonance transverse relaxation rate (R2*) and prognostic factors. Materials and Methods A total of 159 women with invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs) underwent breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) sequence at 3 T. The distribution of the measured R2* values were analyzed, and the correlation between R2* and various prognostic factors (age, tumor size, histologic grade, lymphovascular invasion, and axillary lymph node status, as well as expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, p53, and Ki-67) were retrospectively assessed using patient medical records. Results The baseline R2* values of the IDCs were very heterogeneous with wide range among the patients. The mean R2* value was (32.8 +/- 14.0) Hz with a median of 29.3 Hz (range 13.5-109.4 Hz). In multivariate analysis, older age was associated with decreased R2* value (P = 0.011) and IDCs with p53-overexpression showed higher R2* values than those without p53-overexpression group (P = 0.031). Other prognostic factors were not significantly correlated with R2* value. Conclusion In this study, R2* values were significantly correlated with age and expression of p53. Further studies are necessary to determine the prognostic value of BOLD-MRI.