Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23700476›Full record

ArticlePloS one2013

Diffusion weighted imaging evaluated the early therapy effect of tamoxifen in an MNU-induced mammary cancer rat model.

Guihua Zhai, Clinton J Grubbs, Cecil R Stockard, Heidi R Umphrey, T Mark Beasley, Hyunki Kim

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 89% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Monitoring Pharmacological Treatment of Breast Cancer with MRI.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Guihua ZhaiThe Department of Radiology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
Clinton J Grubbs
Cecil R Stockard
Heidi R Umphrey
T Mark Beasley
Hyunki Kim
University of Alabama at Birmingham · US

Funding

XRAY CRYSTALLOGRAPHYP30CA013148 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI Robert S Welner · 1985 to 2026
$165.9M
NCI NIH HHS 2P30CA013148NCI NIH HHS CA13148-35NCI NIH HHS P30 CA013148
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo assess the optimal time point of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for early prognosis of breast cancer following tamoxifen therapy using a methylnitrosourea (MNU)-induced ER-positive breast-cancer model.

methodsTwo groups of Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 15 for group 1; n = 10 for group 2) were used. All animals (50 days old) were intravenously injected with MNU (50 mg/kg body weight) to induce ER-positive mammary tumors. When tumors were approximately 2 cm in diameter, DWI was performed on days 0, 3, and 7, and intratumoral apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were measured. Therapy started on day 0 with tamoxifen (10 mg/kg diet) and continued for 4 weeks for group 1, but only 1 week for group 2, while tumor volume was measured by caliper twice weekly. All animals of group 2 were euthanized on day 7 after imaging, and Ki-67, TUNEL, ERα, and ERβ staining were performed on tumor tissue.

resultsDW images of MNU-induced mammary tumors were successfully obtained with minimal motion artifact. For group 1, ADC change for 3 days after therapy initiation (ADC3D) was significantly correlated with tumor-volume change until day 11, but the significant correlation between ADC change for 7 days (ADC7D) and the tumor-volume change was observed until day 18. Similarly, for group 2, either ADC7D or ADC3D was significantly correlated with the tumor-volume change, but the higher significance was observed for ADC7D. Furthermore, ADC7D was significantly correlated with apoptotic (TUNEL stained), proliferative (Ki-67 stained), and ERβ-positive cell densities, but ADC3D was not significantly correlated with any of those.

conclusionsADC7D might be a more reliable surrogate imaging biomarker than ADC3D to assess effectiveness of tamoxifen therapy for ER-positive breast cancer, which may enable personalized treatment. The significant correlation between ADC7D and ERβ-positive cell density suggests that ERβ may play an important role as a therapeutic indicator of tamoxifen.

Indexed as

Diffusion Magnetic Resonance ImagingAnimalsAntineoplastic Agents, HormonalFemaleHumansMammary Neoplasms, ExperimentalRatsTamoxifenTumor BurdenAntineoplastic Agents, HormonalTamoxifen

Identifiers

PMID23700476
PMCPMC3660312
OpenAlexW2016020119

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.