Prediction of axillary lymph nodes metastases in patients with breast cancer : Can synthetic MRI provide additional value to DWI?

Motivation: The aim of this study was to investigate whether synthetic MRI-derived quantitative maps can predict metastasis of axillary lymph nodes (ALNs) in breast cancer. Goal(s): Searching for a noninvasive method to predict lymph node metastasis in breast cancer. Approach: 61 breast cancer patients were recruited for the study and the status of ALNs was confirmed by pathology. T1, T2, and PD maps were obtained for each patient. Results: Statistically significant differences in PD, minimal ADC , anatomic features of tumor shape and size were observed between patients with and without metastatic ALNs metastasis. It was shown that PD+Min ADC+shape+size with highest AUC of 0.86. Impact: it can be concluded that syMRI derived relaxation maps may be useful for predicting ALNs status in breast cancer.