Journal Article

DKFZ-2025-01210

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png AI-Based screening for thoracic aortic aneurysms in routine breast MRI.

Bounias, D. (First author)DKFZ* ; Führes, T. ; Brock, L. ; Graber, J. ; Kapsner, L. A. ; Liebert, A. ; Schreiter, H. ; Eberle, J. ; Hadler, D. ; Skwierawska, D. ; Floca, R. O.DKFZ* ; Neher, P.DKFZ* ; Kovacs, B.DKFZ* ; Wenkel, E. ; Ohlmeyer, S. ; Uder, M. ; Maier-Hein, K.DKFZ* ; Bickelhaupt, S.

2025
Springer Nature [London]

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Please use a persistent id in citations: doi:10.1038/s41467-025-59694-2

Abstract: Prognosis for thoracic aortic aneurysms is significantly worse for women than men, with a higher mortality rate observed among female patients. The increasing use of magnetic resonance breast imaging (MRI) offers a unique opportunity for simultaneous detection of both breast cancer and thoracic aortic aneurysms. We retrospectively validate a fully-automated artificial neural network (ANN) pipeline on 5057 breast MRI examinations from public (Duke University Hospital/EA1141 trial) and in-house (Erlangen University Hospital) data. The ANN, benchmarked against 3D-ground-truth segmentations, clinical reports, and a multireader panel, demonstrates high technical robustness (dice/clDice 0.88-0.91/0.97-0.99) across different vendors and field strengths. The ANN improves aneurysm detection rates by 3.5-fold compared with routine clinical readings, highlighting its potential to improve early diagnosis and patient outcomes. Notably, a higher odds ratio (OR = 2.29, CI: [0.55,9.61]) for thoracic aortic aneurysms is observed in women with breast cancer or breast cancer history, suggesting potential further benefits from integrated simultaneous assessment for cancer and aortic aneurysms.

Keyword(s): Humans (MeSH) ; Female (MeSH) ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging: methods (MeSH) ; Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic: diagnostic imaging (MeSH) ; Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic: diagnosis (MeSH) ; Breast Neoplasms: diagnostic imaging (MeSH) ; Middle Aged (MeSH) ; Neural Networks, Computer (MeSH) ; Retrospective Studies (MeSH) ; Breast: diagnostic imaging (MeSH) ; Aged (MeSH) ; Male (MeSH) ; Mass Screening: methods (MeSH) ; Adult (MeSH)

Note: #EA:E230#

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Contributing Institute(s):

1. E230 Medizinische Bildverarbeitung (E230)
2. DKTK HD zentral (HD01)

Research Program(s):

1. 315 - Bildgebung und Radioonkologie (POF4-315) (POF4-315)

Appears in the scientific report 2025

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