Tumor index can identify breast cancer patients' drug response
Researchers at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) have developed an imaging biomarker, the Tumour Heterogeneity Index (THI), which enables noninvasive assessment of breast cancer patients' response to AKT inhibitors before treatment, helping clinicians identify patients most likely to benefit from therapy. The study found that patients with a high THI achieved an estimated pathological…
Researchers at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) have developed an imaging biomarker called the Tumour Heterogeneity Index (THI) to assess breast cancer patients' response to AKT inhibitors before treatment. THI, derived from dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI), enables noninvasive evaluation of treatment outcomes, helping clinicians tailor treatment strategies to individual patients.
The study found that patients with high THI values had a significantly higher estimated pathological complete response (pCR) rate when treated with the investigational AKT inhibitor MK2206, compared to those with low THI values. THI outperforms traditional immunohistochemistry (IHC)-based receptor testing in predicting treatment response and characterizing the tumor microenvironment.
The technology could reduce unnecessary side effects and make precision medicine more widely applicable in routine clinical practice.
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