Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
MRI scans predict treatment success in dogs with soft tissue sarcomas
By Viglianti, Benjamin L et al.·Published in Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research·2009·Duke University Medical Center, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging as a predictor of clinical outcome in canine spontaneous soft tissue sarcomas treated with thermoradiotherapy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 37 dogs with soft tissue sarcomas underwent special MRI scans before and after receiving a combination of heat treatment and radiation therapy. The scans measured how well the tumors absorbed and released a contrast agent, which helped predict how well the dogs would respond to treatment. Results showed that certain MRI measurements were linked to better survival rates and fewer instances of cancer spreading. This suggests that these MRI scans can be useful tools for veterinarians to assess treatment effectiveness in dogs with these types of tumors.
People also search for: dog soft tissue sarcoma treatment · canine cancer survival rates · MRI for dog tumors
Abstract
PURPOSE: This study tests whether dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) parameters obtained from canine patients with soft tissue sarcomas, treated with hyperthermia and radiotherapy, are predictive of therapeutic outcome. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Thirty-seven dogs with soft tissue sarcomas had DCE-MRI done before and following the first hyperthermia. Signal enhancement for tumor and reference muscle were fitted empirically, yielding a washin/washout rate for the contrast agent and tumor area under the signal enhancement curve (AUC) calculated from 0 to 60 seconds, 90 seconds, and the time of maximal enhancement in the reference muscle. These parameters were then compared with local tumor control, metastasis-free survival, and overall survival. RESULTS: Pretherapy rate of contrast agent washout was positively predictive of improved overall and metastasis-free survival with hazard ratio of 0.67 (P = 0.015) and 0.68 (P = 0.012), respectively. After the first hyperthermia washin rate, AUC60, AUC90, and AUCt-max were predictive of improved overall and metastasis-free survival with hazard ratio ranging from 0.46 to 0.53 (P < 0.002) and 0.44 to 0.55 (P < 0.004), respectively. DCE-MRI parameters were compared with extracellular pH and (31)P MR spectroscopy results (previously published) in the same patients showing a correlation. This suggested that an increase in perfusion after therapy was effective in eliminating excess acid from the tumor. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that DCE-MRI has utility predicting overall and metastasis-free survival in canine patients with soft tissue sarcomas. To our knowledge, this is the first time that DCE-MRI parameters are predictive of clinical outcome for soft tissue sarcomas.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19622579/