Does Color Doppler Ultrasound Vascularity Predict the Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer?
Darunee Boonjunwetwat, MD*, Jenjeera Prueksadee, MD*, Pichet Sampatanukul, MD, MSc**, Kris Chatamra, MD***
Affiliation : * Departments of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University ** Departments of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University *** Departments of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University
Objectives : To assess the proportions of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy of breast cancer according to
color Doppler ultrasound vascularity patterns.
Materials and Methods : Prospective evaluation using gray scale and color Doppler ultrasound for number of
vessels and feeding appearances of tumors as well as the changes in tumor sizes at before and after chemo-
therapy in 69 breast cancer patients.
Results : The overall response rate in 70 breast cancers was 20%. Twenty-nine lesions (41%) showed
hypervascularity and 41 lesions (59%) revealed hypovascularity. There were 5 vascularity patterns and each
pattern had the proportion of responders as follows; 33.3% for hypovascularity with single-vessel feeding into
the tumor, 25% for hypovascularity with single-vessel feeding at periphery of the tumor, 25% for no vascular
feeding to the tumor, 16.7% for hypervascularity with vascular feeding at the periphery of the tumor and 13%
for hypervascularity with vascular feeding into the tumor. The highest percentage of responsive group was the
pattern of hypovascularity with single-vessel feeding into the tumor (33.3%).
Conclusion : There is a trend that tumor vascularity and patterns of vascular feeding by color Doppler ultra-
sound can predict the responsiveness of breast cancer to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Keywords : Breast cancer, Color doppler, Imaging, Neoadjuvant, Tumor response
