title: Noninvasive In-Vivo Quantification of Mechanical Heterogeneity of Invasive Breast Carcinomas.
abstract: Heterogeneity is a hallmark of cancer whether one considers the genotype of cancerous cells, the composition of their microenvironment, the distribution of blood and lymphatic microvasculature, or the spatial distribution of the desmoplastic reaction. It is logical to expect that this heterogeneity in tumor microenvironment will lead to spatial heterogeneity in its mechanical properties. In this study we seek to quantify the mechanical heterogeneity within malignant and benign tumors using ultrasound based elasticity imaging. By creating in-vivo elastic modulus images for ten human subjects with breast tumors, we show that Young's modulus distribution in cancerous breast tumors is more heterogeneous when compared with tumors that are not malignant, and that this signature may be used to distinguish malignant breast tumors. Our results complement the view of cancer as a heterogeneous disease on multiple length scales by demonstrating that mechanical properties within cancerous tumors are also spatially heterogeneous.
authors.affiliation: Scientific Computation Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Tengxiao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Olalekan A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Babaniyi
authors.affiliation: Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Paul E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Barbone
authors.affiliation: Scientific Computation Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Assad A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Oberai
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques; D005109:Extracellular Matrix; D005260:Female; D018226:Fibroadenoma / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008833:Microcirculation; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D011846:Radio Waves; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment; D014465:Ultrasonics