AUTHOR=Doudou Natacha Raissa , Kampo Sylvanus , Liu Yajie , Ahmmed Bulbul , Zeng Dewei , Zheng Minting , Mohamadou Aminou , Wen Qing-Ping , Wang Shaowu 

TITLE=Monitoring the Early Antiproliferative Effect of the Analgesic–Antitumor Peptide, BmK AGAP on Breast Cancer Using Intravoxel Incoherent Motion With a Reduced Distribution of Four b-Values

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.00708

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2019.00708

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> The present study aimed to investigate the possibility of using intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to quantitatively assess the early therapeutic effect of the analgesic–antitumor peptide BmK AGAP on breast cancer and also evaluate the medical value of a reduced distribution of four <italic>b</italic>-values.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> IVIM diffusion MRI using 10 <italic>b</italic>-values and 4 <italic>b</italic>-values (0–1,000 s/mm<sup>2</sup>) was performed at five different time points on <italic>BALB/c</italic> mice bearing xenograft breast tumors treated with BmK AGAP. Variability in <italic>Dslow</italic>, <italic>Dfast</italic>, <italic>PF</italic>, and <italic>ADC</italic> derived from the set of 10 <italic>b</italic>-values and 4 <italic>b</italic>-values was assessed to evaluate the antitumor effect of BmK AGAP on breast tumor.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> The data showed that <italic>PF</italic> values significantly decreased in rBmK AGAP-treated mice on day 12 (<italic>P</italic> = 0.044). <italic>PF</italic> displayed the greatest AUC but with a poor medical value (AUC = 0.65). The data showed no significant difference between IVIM measurements acquired from the two sets of <italic>b</italic>-values at different time points except in the <italic>PF</italic> on the day 3. The within-subject coefficients of variation were relatively higher in <italic>Dfast</italic> and <italic>PF</italic>. However, except for a case noticed on day 0 in <italic>PF</italic> measurements, the results indicated no statistically significant difference at various time points in the rBmK AGAP-treated or the untreated group (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> IVIM showed poor medical value in the early evaluation of the antiproliferative effect of rBmK AGAP in breast cancer, suggesting sensitivity in <italic>PF</italic>. A reduced distribution of four b-values may provide remarkable measurements but with a potential loss of accuracy in the perfusion-related parameter <italic>PF</italic>.</p>