title: Equivalent cross-relaxation rate imaging of breast cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether equivalent cross-relaxation rate (ECR) imaging is a feasible method for demonstrating breast cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen breast cancer patients underwent both ECR imaging, with off-resonance saturation pulses at frequency offsets of 7 and 19 ppm (ECR-7 and ECR-19, respectively) from water resonance, and gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the breast. The mean tumor size was 26.5 mm. The tumor outlines defined by their shape and margin on ECR-7 images were compared with the subtraction images produced by the dynamic study, and the distribution of hyperintensity areas and their shapes on ECR-19 images were assessed. All patients had surgery and pathological findings were compared to ECR images.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The tumor outline of 13/15 (87%) tumors on ECR-7 images was nearly identical to that on subtraction images; ECR-19 images demonstrated the location and degree of fibrosis. The tumor outline of the other two tumors was less clear on ECR-7 images, and internal hyperintensity on ECR-19 images reflected intratumoral fibrotic foci. ECR-7 and -19 imaging findings allowed identification of four distinct tumor types that reflected the tumor growth patterns and their internal structures associated with fibrosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ECR imaging is a feasible imaging technique for demonstrating breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan. s.yuen@scchr.jp
authors.forename: Sachiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yuen
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Yasutomi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kinosada
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsushima
authors.forename: Yasuhiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Tsunehiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishimura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D013382:Subtraction Technique