# Breast Cancer Screening with Quantitative Ultra-Fast DCEMRI and Clinical Risk Assessment

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · 2020 · $576,596

## Abstract

Abstract
MRI has potential to significantly improve breast cancer screening, particularly for women with dense
breasts and women who are at higher than average risk for breast cancer. However, improvements in
diagnostic accuracy are needed before MRI can be used to screen large numbers of women. The
abbreviated MRI scan (AB-MRI) designed by Kuhl and colleagues is a very promising approach to MRI-
screening, but relies on a single T1-weighted scan post contrast injection to evaluate enhancement. The
lack of information regarding contrast media uptake kinetics may reduce diagnostic accuracy. The research
proposed here will test the hypothesis that addition of ultrafast MRI to AB-MRI improves diagnostic
accuracy. We propose that AB-MRI combined with ultrafast DCE-MRI can provide effective screening with
at a reasonable cost, and with minimal inconvenience for patients. This would result in reliable detection of
clinically significant breast cancer years earlier than current screening methods, and thus significantly
reduce morbidity and mortality due to breast cancer.
A national ECOG-ACRIN clinical trial of AB-MRI screening will begin in late 2016. The basic protocol for
this trial is a 10 minute scan with a single post-contrast T1-weighted scan. However, based on results from
this lab, the leaders of the ECOG ACRIN trial strongly support inclusion of quantitative ultrafast DCE-MRI in
AB-MRI at UChicago (please see the letter of support from the Chair). We propose to:
1. Optimize ultrafast DCE-MRI integrated into AB-MRI with total duration of less than 10 minutes. The
ultrafast DCE-MRI scan will have time resolution of less than 3 seconds per image.
2. Develop quantitative analysis of ultrafast data to measure time of initial enhancement (TIE),
quantitative Ktrans measurements based on a simplified computational approach, lesion transfer function
(LTF) and lesion transit Time(LTT). In addition, we will measure the initial kinetics of lesion
enhancement texture.
3. Evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of pharmacokinetic parameters from DCE-MRI. Data will be analyzed
in two stages. First, we will use data that is currently being acquired at UChicago to identify the most
promising parameters from ultrafast DCE-MRI for further evaluation. Second, we will evaluate the most
promising parameters in a ‘testing group’. ROC analysis will be used to determine whether parameters from
ultrafast imaging can increase the diagnostic accuracy of MRI screening.
4. Compare the diagnostic accuracy of AB-MRI with and without ultrafast DCE-MRI, using both a Reader
study and quantitative analysis.
New ultrafast DCE-MRI, integrated into AB-MRI scans will significantly reduce morbidity and mortality due
to breast cancer, while significantly reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9965648
- **Project number:** 5R01CA218700-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Gregory S. Karczmar
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $576,596
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-06-15 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9965648

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9965648, Breast Cancer Screening with Quantitative Ultra-Fast DCEMRI and Clinical Risk Assessment (5R01CA218700-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9965648. Licensed CC0.

---

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