title: Effectiveness of evaluating tumor  vascularization using 3D power Doppler  ultrasound with high-definition flow  technology in the prediction of the  response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for  T2 breast cancer: a preliminary report.
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of advanced ultrasound (US) imaging of vascular flow and morphological features in the prediction of a pathologic complete response (pCR) and a partial response (PR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for T2 breast cancer.Twenty-nine consecutive patients with T2 breast cancer treated with six courses of anthracycline-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy were enrolled. Three-dimensional (3D) power Doppler US with high-definition flow (HDF) technology was used to investigate the blood flow in and morphological features of the tumors. Six vascularity quantization features, three morphological features, and two vascular direction features were selected and extracted from the US images. A support vector machine was used to evaluate the changes in vascularity after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and pCR and PR were predicted on the basis of these changes.The most accurate prediction of pCR was achieved after the first chemotherapy cycle, with an accuracy of 93.1% and a specificity of 85.5%, while that of a PR was achieved after the second cycle, with an accuracy of 79.31% and a specificity of 72.22%.Vascularity data can be useful to predict the effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Determination of changes in vascularity after neoadjuvant chemotherapy using 3D power Doppler US with HDF can generate accurate predictions of the patient response, facilitating early decision-making.
authors.forename: Wei-Chung
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Shia
authors.forename: Dar-Ren
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yu-Len
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Hwa-Koon
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Shou-Jen
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kuo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color / Q000379:methods*; D016217:Ultrasonography, Mammary