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NCT Number: NCT05704062

Quantitative MRI Assessment of Breast Cancer Therapy Response

The goal of this observational study is to investigate and validate multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) modalities for assessment of breast cancer response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in a multi-site and multi-MRI scanner platform setting. This study is conducted at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), University of Washington (UW), and University of Iowa (UI) using Siemens, Philips, and General Electric MRI scanners, respectively. MRI is a type of scan that uses a very strong magnet and no radiation to take very detailed pictures of parts of the body. MRI is often used as standard of care to take pictures of breast tumor(s) before and after chemotherapy treatment in order to measure the tumor size changes in response to treatment, and in order to plan for surgery. MRI is used because the images it takes are very clear and the borders of the tumor can be measured very accurately. However the tumor size alone is often not a good early indicator of whether or not the tumor responds to treatment. Tumor size change usually happens late during the period of treatment, and tumor size measured with MRI after treatment can overestimate or underestimate the residual cancer. This makes it difficult to do the right surgical planning. In addition to measuring tumor size, the MRI scans in this research study will also measure changes in tumor blood vessels and the number of cancer cells per unit of tumor volume. The purpose of this study is to see whether MRI measurements of these functional tumor properties provide better early prediction and evaluation of breast cancer response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy than tumor size measurement. This is an observational study because the MRI procedures are not expected to have an effect on health outcomes. Eligible participants on this study are receiving standard of care neoadjuvant treatment for their cancer.

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Key information

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States

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About this study

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. To investigate, compared to tumor size measurement, if functional MRI biomarkers or combination of a set of functional biomarkers provide earlier prediction of responders vs. non-responders with pathological analyses of surgical specimens as the endpoints.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To investigate, compared to tumor size measurement, which MRI functional biomarker or combination of a set of biomarkers provides:

Ia. A more accurate assessment of residual cancer burden with pathological analyses of surgical specimens as the endpoints.

Ib. A more accurate prognosis of five-year recurrence-free survival.

II. To validate that the Shutter-Speed dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI method, which measures tumor blood flow and vessel wall leakiness, as well as tumor metabolic activity, and was developed by OHSU investigators on the Siemens scanner platform, is a robust method for prediction and evaluation of breast cancer response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy across major MRI scanner platforms (Siemens, Philips, and General Electric).

OUTLINE:

Patients undergo dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-MRI (for measuring tumor blood vessel changes) and diffusion-weighted (DW)-MRI (for measuring tumor cell density changes) together with some standard anatomic MRI scans for about 45 minutes at baseline, after first treatment cycle, at mid-point of treatment course, and after completion of neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients with histologically confirmed breast cancer who are scheduled to receive standard of care neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to surgical management
  • No contraindication for an MRI exam
  • Normal kidney functional for receiving a standard dose of gadolinium-based MRI contrast agent through IV injection
  • Not pregnant
  • Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document. A signed study-specific informed consent must be obtained prior to any study specific procedures

Exclusion criteria

  • Patients who would be normally excluded from undergoing an MRI examination - patients with a pacemaker, aneurysm clip, or any other condition that would warrant avoidance of a strong magnetic field
  • Patients who are unable to cooperate for an MRI exam lasting about 45 min, and/or have known allergic reaction to gadolinium-based contrast agent
  • Severe claustrophobia precluding subject from undergoing MRI
  • Patients with acute or chronic kidney dysfunction (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] < 60 ml/min/1.73 m^2 as calculated using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease [MDRD] equation)
  • Pregnant participants are excluded from this study because it is difficult for them to lie prone on the MRI table and because of possible risk to the fetus
  • Cognitively impaired

Treatment and study plan

Diffusion Weighted Imaging

Procedure

Undergo DW-MRI

Other names: Diffusion Weighted MRI, Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Diffusion-Weighted MR Imaging, Diffusion-Weighted MRI, DW-MRI, DWI, DWI MRI, DWI-MRI, MR Diffusion-Weighted Imaging

Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Procedure

Undergo DCE-MRI

Other names: DCE, DCE MRI, DCE-MRI, DYNAMIC CONTRAST ENHANCED MRI

Primary outcomes

  1. Compare functional MRI biomarkers with tumor size measurement for early prediction of breast cancer response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy

    Time frame: Through study completion, up to 5 years

    Functional MRI biomarkers, Kᵗʳᵃⁿˢ (transfer rate constant in min-¹), vₑ (extravascular and extracellular space volume fraction), kₑₚ (efflux rate constant in min-¹), and τᵢ (mean intracellular water lifetime in sec) along with ADC (apparent diffusion coefficient in mm²/sec) will be obtained from DCE- and DW-MRI. Tumor longest diameter (LD) will be measured (in mm). Early changes (%) in each MRI parameter will be derived and correlated with pathologic response status, pathologic complete response (pCR) or non-pCR, obtained from the resected tumor. Predictive accuracy for pCR vs. non-pCR is determined by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC AUC) for each parameter change (%). Comparison of AUC will determine if change (%) of a functional MRI biomarker is more accurate than LD in prediction of pCR vs. non-pCR. Also, changes (%) of all functional biomarkers will be combined using multivariate logistic regression and compared with that of LD for predictive accuracy.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Compare functional MRI biomarkers with tumor size measurement for assessment of residual cancer burden

    Time frame: Through study completion, up to 5 years

    MRI parameters Kᵗʳᵃⁿˢ, vₑ, kₑₚ, τᵢ, ADC, and LD derived from the MRI data obtained after completion of neoadjuvant chemotherapy but before surgery will be correlated with residual cancer burden (RCB) ranks (RCB I, II, and III) determined by standard of care pathologist review of surgical specimens. Correlation coefficients will be compared to determine if a functional MRI biomarker is more accurate than LD in assessing RCB ranks. In addition, all functional MRI biomarkers will be combined using a multivariate logistic regression model and compared with LD in assessing RCB ranks.

  2. Compare functional MRI biomarkers with tumor size measurement for prognosis of recurrence-free survival

    Time frame: Up to 5 years after study completion

    MRI parameters Kᵗʳᵃⁿˢ, vₑ, kₑₚ, τᵢ, ADC, and LD derived from the MRI data obtained after completion of neoadjuvant chemotherapy but before surgery will be correlated with recurrence-free survival (in the unit of month) to determine if a functional MRI biomarker provides more accurate prognosis of five-year recurrence-free survival than LD. In addition, all functional MRI biomarkers will be combined using a multivariate logistic regression model and compared with LD in prognosis of recurrence-free survival.

  3. Validation of Shutter-Speed dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI as a robust method for prediction and evaluation of breast cancer response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy

    Time frame: Through study completion, up to 5 years

    DCE-MRI data will be collected from participants using a Siemens scanner at OHSU, a Philips scanner at University of Washington, and a General Electric (GE) scanner at University of Iowa. The Shutter-Speed pharmacokinetic model will be used to analyze DCE-MRI data from each site to derive Kᵗʳᵃⁿˢ, vₑ, kₑₚ, and τᵢ parameters. As described above, ROC AUC value for prediction of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and correlation coefficient with RCB ranks will be calculated for each functional DCE-MRI biomarker. The ROC AUC value and correlation coefficient for each functional DCE-MRI biomarker will be compared across the three scanners (or three sites), respectively, to determine if the functional DCE-MRI biomarkers derived with the Shutter-Speed pharmacokinetic model provide similar predictive performances regardless of the MRI scanner vendor.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Kristen Grant, RN

CONTACT

248-551-0439

Wei Huang, Chief, MR Rad Imaging Physics, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

248-551-6468

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Corewell Health East

Other

Collaborators

  • National Cancer Institute (NCI)
  • Oregon Health and Science University
  • University of Iowa
  • University of Washington

Registry information

Official study title

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Assessment of Breast Cancer Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Important dates

Study start
2010
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Jan 30, 2023
Registry last updated
Apr 17, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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