Download Trial of Novel Optical Breast-Scanning Technology Activates

ACRIN 6691:
Monitoring and Predicting Breast Cancer
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Response
Using Diffuse Optical Spectroscopic Imaging
The American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) announces the
activation of the clinical trial ACRIN 6691: Monitoring and Predicting Breast Cancer
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Response Using Diffuse Optical Spectroscopic Imaging
(DOSI). Led by principal investigator Bruce J. Tromberg, PhD (Beckman Laser Institute,
University of California, Irvine, Calif.) and initiated within the ACRIN Experimental
Imaging Sciences Committee, the trial will evaluate the new DOSE tool. This
noninvasive optical breast-scanning device is based on near-infrared light and advancedlaser technology that quantitatively characterizes the optical properties of tissues.
DOSI has been shown to provide early functional assessment of a patient’s response to
neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The device measures the biochemical composition of breast
tissue; specifically, the amount of water, lipid, and hemoglobin in the scanned tissue.
These measurements help form functional images that reveal the supply of blood and the
use of oxygen in breast tissue. This information has the potential to distinguish between
tumor and normal tissue and assess how tumors respond to chemotherapy.
The primary aim of the ACRIN 6691 trial is to ascertain whether baseline to mid-therapy
changes in DOSI measurements can predict pathological response in patients receiving
pre-surgical neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. The study is collaboration
between ACRIN and the National Cancer Institute’s Network for Translational Research
of the Interdisciplinary (NTROI) Research Consortium. A total of five NTROI clinical
sites will enroll 60 study participants. Identical handheld DOSI instruments and scanning
methods, along with a similar class of chemotherapy and dosing strategies, will be
employed at each site. Breast cancer will be diagnosed by pathologist-confirmed initial
tissue biopsy.
Following a screening visit, participants will receive DOSI scans at four time points
during their scheduled chemotherapy treatment (i.e., baseline, early therapy, mid-therapy,
and post-therapy), over a period of up to nine months. Pathology obtained from
subsequent surgery will be used to determine categories of tumor response.
Characterizing the long-term clinical significance of this research, Tromberg notes, “We
hope to introduce a relatively simple, risk-free bedside tool that can help inform medical
decisions on chemotherapy regimen, duration, and timing of surgery, thereby maximizing
therapeutic response and minimizing unnecessary toxicity.”