Abstract:
Background: Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) and Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC) are the
most common types of Invasive Breast Cancers (IBC), known for their aggressiveness. Breast
density (BD) is a significant risk factor for breast cancer.
Objectives: To utilize Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to investigate the influence of BD and
other morphometric features of the Contralateral Breast (CLB) on patients diagnosed with IDC
and ILC
Methods: This retrospective study involved female patients aged 40 years or older, sourced from
the Cancer Imaging Archive database according to the purpose of the study. Pre-contrast axial T1
weighted images were processed using 3D Slicer software to create 3D images of the CLB.
Regions of interest within the CLB were manually selected, with approval from a board-certified
radiologist to ensure accuracy and consistency. These 3D images were used to measure total
breast volume, glandular tissue volume, BD, breast surface area, and glandular tissue surface area.
MRI BD was calculated as the ratio of fibro-glandular tissue volume to total breast volume. Data
analysis was performed using Python 3.12, employing an ANOVA f-test to assess the impact of
MRI BD and morphometric features on IBCs, with the critical f-value determined from the tabular
f distribution for analysis.
Results: A cohort of 144 female patients (mean age 51.64 years) who underwent breast MRI (118
with IDC and 26 with ILC) was studied. Analysis of breast volume (f-value = 2.358518),
glandular tissue volume (f-value = 0.542159), surface area (f-value = 1.387352), glandular tissue
surface area (f-value = 1.085903), and MRI BD (f-value = 0.038482) revealed f-values below the
critical threshold of 3.8815.
Conclusions: The study found no statistically significant influence of MRI BD and other
morphometric features of the CLB on the occurrence of IDC and ILC.
