Correlation between contrast enhancement in dynamic magnetic resonance imaging of the breast and tumor angiogenesis

The authors determined the relation between tumor angiogenesis in small invasive breast carcinoma and contrast enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after gadolinium injection.Magnetic resonance imaging was performed before surgery in a prospective study of 20 patients who had a small palpable lump. Spin-echo sequences after injection of gadolinium were studied by factor analysis of medical image sequences and were compared with a histologic quantification of tumor angiogenesis after immunocytochemical staining.In nine cases, there was good correlation between the MRI and the histologic plane. In four patients, an early factor was found on MRI. This factor was related to a high concentration of arterioles located in the stroma or, in one patient, to the intratumor repair process.Early enhancement correlated well with the number of vessels determined histologically.