# MRI Characterization of Biological Risk of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2021 · $304,946

## Abstract

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to determine whether quantitative, multiparametric breast MRI performed prior to
biopsy can biologically characterize a common pre-invasive malignancy, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which
typically presents in asymptomatic women as suspicious calcifications on mammography. Unfortunately, the
appearance of these calcifications cannot distinguish DCIS from benign breast pathology, and current
pathologic tests cannot reliably distinguish clinically important forms of DCIS from those that behave indolently.
This leads to unnecessary biopsies and therapies, including surgeries and radiation treatment. Recent
advanced pathologic and multigene assays of DCIS and its microenvironment hold promise for improved risk
assessments but have limited validation to date and are prone to sampling error due to lesion heterogeneity.
Our prior studies support the use of quantitative MRI measurements of vascular permeability (Ktrans, signal
enhancement ratio [SER]), cellular density (apparent diffusion coefficient [ADC] and tissue diffusion [Dt]), and
microperfusion (perfusion fraction [ƒ]) to characterize DCIS biology. We hypothesize that the use of these
quantitative MRI features will provide an accurate, non-invasive biological risk assessment of DCIS
lesions. To test this hypothesis, we will assess whether quantitative MRI markers of vascular permeability and
cellularity can accurately exclude the presence of DCIS-associated malignancy and whether more advanced
MRI markers of biology can further distinguish between aggressive from less aggressive forms of DCIS in a
prospective observational clinical trial of 150 women presenting with suspicious mammographic calcifications
at the University of Washington. All participants will undergo a pre-biopsy, 3 tesla high spatiotemporal
resolution dynamic contrast enhanced and multi-b value reduced field of view diffusion weighted breast MRI.
Quantitative MRI features, including SER, Ktrans, ADC, Dt, and ƒ, will be measured for each lesion and the
surrounding (peri-tumoral) stroma. We will assess whether these MRI signatures can determine which
calcifications identified as suspicious on mammography actually harbor DCIS, and whether these imaging
features correlate with pathologic markers of proliferation (Ki-67) and inflammation (cox-2) within DCIS lesions.
We will also explore whether these quantitative MRI features in the peri-tumoral region correlate with
prognostic microenvironment markers of inflammation (TNFα) and angiogenesis (VEGF). Finally, we will
assess whether a multivariate model using these markers can accurately predict risk of recurrence based on a
multi-gene assay (Oncotype DX DCIS score). If successful, this study could lead to larger clinical trials that use
MRI features to 1) decrease unnecessary biopsies of calcifications that in fact represent benign pathology and
2) provide accurate assessments of DCIS risk of progression to invasive disease and recurrence after
...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10172857
- **Project number:** 5R01CA203883-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** HABIBOLLAH RAHBAR
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $304,946
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-06-05 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10172857

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10172857, MRI Characterization of Biological Risk of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (5R01CA203883-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10172857. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*