Clinical application of gadoterate meglumine in abbreviated dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the breast with ultrafast imaging: a single-center retrospective study.

Background: There is increasing interest in high temporal resolution imaging techniques in breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for breast cancer detection. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical application of gadoterate meglumine (Dotarem) in abbreviated dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) of the breast for cancer detection, focusing on quantitative kinetic analysis with ultrafast DCE-MRI. Methods: Ultrafast acquisition is a high temporal resolution (3.5-4.6 seconds) imaging technique used during the first minute following contrast injection to obtain three-dimensional (3D) whole breast images. All ultrafast DCE-MRIs were motion-corrected by a non-rigid registration method. A retrospective study was performed for 49 patients with 60 malignant lesions and 2 benign lesions. Background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) was evaluated in 47 of the patients because two patients had breast implants. Semi-automatic volumetric segmentation of the lesions was performed with 3D Slicer. Signal enhancement ratio (SER) over time was fitted with an empirical mathematical model (EMM) by using each voxel within the lesion and selected normal parenchymal regions of interest (ROIs). Quantitative pharmacokinetic parameters, including transfer constant ( Results: Higher signal enhancement in malignant lesions than signal in BPE was observed in the time course of ultrafast DCE-MRI. The ratio of Conclusions: Based on quantitative pharmacokinetic analysis of ultrafast DCE-MRI, the study demonstrated the viability of utilizing Dotarem as an intravenous gadolinium-based contrast agent for DCE-MRI of the breast with preserved clinical success for breast cancer detection.