Magnetic Resonance Imaging–Based Assessment of Breast Cancer–Related Lymphoedema Tissue Composition

This study also aims to compare affected and control (unaffected) arms of patients with diagnosed BCRL, providing an analysis of both the volume and the distribution of the different tissue components. Materials and Methods: The entire arm was imaged with a fluid-sensitive STIR and a 2-point 3-dimensional T1W gradient-echo–based Dixon sequences, acquired in sagittal orientation and covering the same imaging volume. An automated image postprocessing procedure was developed to simultaneously (1) contour the external volume of the arm and the muscle fascia, allowing separation of the epifacial and subfascial volumes; and to (2) separate the voxels belonging to the muscle, fat, and fluid components. The total, subfascial, epifascial, muscle (subfascial), fluid (epifascial), and fat (epifascial) volumes were measured in 13 patients with unilateral BCRL. Affected versus unaffected volumes were compared using a 2-tailed paired t test; a value of P
Source: Investigative Radiology - Category: Radiology Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research