Quantitative Ultrasound for Chemotherapy Monitoring

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is used in breast cancer patients to reduce tumor size, decrease the risk of local recurrence, and diminish the likelihood of metastases, all of which reduce patient mortality. Assessment of the response to NAC at an early stage of treatment allows therapy to be personalized. The quantitative ultrasound method is a novel diagnostic approach with great potential to improve outcomes for breast cancer patients. The aim of this study was to analyze the variability of the integrated backscatter coefficient (IBSC) in the context of the assessment of changes in tumor tissue structure resulting from chemotherapy, and to evaluate use of IBSC to predict the effectiveness of treatment. Ultrasound data (B-mode images and raw ultrasonic radio frequency signals RF) were collected from cancerous tumors from patients intended to NAC before starting treatment and a week after each chemotherapy dose. Data were processed to generate IBSC maps and to determine IBSC mean values. The assessment of tumors using IBSC, in comparison with histopathological verification, showed that IBSC changes can be associated with changes which tumor structure changes during NAC. IBSC analysis correlated better with the results of histopathological verification than B-mode imaging.