Predictive value of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging during chemoradiotherapy for uterine cervical cancer

Background Patients with uterine cervical cancer suffer high mortality. Accurate detection of a residual tumor by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during and after directed brachytherapy (BCT) is crucial for the success of cancer treatment and is a significant predictor of patient survival. Purpose To determine the diagnostic significance of MRI in detecting residual tumor tissue after BCT. Material and Methods The Web of Knowledge, Cochrane Library, and PubMed were systematically searched (January 1997 to December 2016) for post-brachytherapy MRI studies that measured residual tumors in patients with uterine cervical cancer. All data were analyzed using the Meta-Disc 1.4 program. Results Four clinical studies consisting of 163 patients (147 of whom were included in the present analysis) who were diagnosed with uterine cervical cancer according to the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging system were included in the study. All the patients received BCT and underwent MRI detection of residual tumors tissue. In studies where the accuracy of MRI detection was confirmed by histological tests or gynecological tests, the summary estimates of specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were 88.5%, 83.5%, 53.5%, 97.1%, and 84.3%, respectively. Conclusion MRI-directed BCT is commonly used for cervical cancer patients. Based on our investigation of four independent studies, MRI showed better prediction of positive results than negative results in patients with cervical cancer after BCT. However, more data on the greater numbers of patients are needed to establish the accuracy of MRI detection of cervical cancer after BCT.

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Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of cervical cancer

Acta medica Lituanica ◽

10.6001/actamedica.v18i4.1866 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 139-146

Author(s):

Vaida ATSTUPĖNAITĖ ◽

Algidas BASEVIČIUS ◽

Adrijus KRIMELIS ◽

Artūras INČIŪRA ◽

Daiva VAITKIENĖ

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽

Cervical Cancer ◽

Magnetic Resonance ◽

Chemoradiation Therapy ◽

Cervical Tissue ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

Adc Value ◽

Diffusion Weighted ◽

Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽

The Mean

Background. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW–MRI) has been employed in the diagnostics of malignant tumors of abdomen and pelvis relatively recently. Nowadays, there exists a particular interest in adaptation DW–MRI for assessing the response of tumors to chemoradiaton therapy. The aim of our study was to compare the mean value of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in a healthy cervix, cancer-affected cervix and a cervix after chemoradiation therapy, as well as to identify the ADC range typical of cervical cancer. Materials and methods. The study enrolled 108 female patients who underwent pelvic MRI in the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kaunas Clinics Hospital in 2008–2010. The study group consisted of 65 patients in whom cervical cancer had been clinically suspected and confirmed by biopsy before MRI examination. All these patients underwent pelvic MRI twice: before the chemoradiation therapy and 6 months after the therapy. The control group consisted of 43 patients in whom cervical cancer had been not suspected and MRI was performed because of other pelvic diseases. Results. The mean ADC value of the study group (0.658 ± 0.118 × 10–3 mm2/s) was lower than of the control group (1.171 ± 0.143 × 10–3 mm2/s) (t = 20.315, p = 0.03). The ADC threshold value of 0.945 × 10–3 mm2/s was defined, differentiating the cancer-affected cervical tissue from the normal. The mean ADC value of the patients who responded to chemoradiation therapy (1.111 ± 0.138 × 10–3 mm2/s) increased and in those who did not respond it remained lower (0.733 ± 0.073 × 10–3 mm2/s) (t = 9.518, p = 0.04). The ADC threshold value of 0.830 × 10–3 mm2/s was defined, differentiating the residual tumor tissue from the healthy cervical tissue after chemoradiation therapy. Conclusions. The ADC value in the case of cervical cancer was significantly lower than in the non-affected cervical tissue. The ADC value increases after effective chemoradiation therapy and becomes closer to the coefficient value of non-affected cervical tissue, but still remains lower. The 0.945 × 10–3 mm2/s ADC threshold was detected while differentiating between cancer-affected and normal cervical tissues, while the ADC threshold was 0.830 × 10–3 mm2/s when differentiating between residual tumor tissue and healthy cervical tissue after chemoradiation therapy at a high sensitivity and specificity. Keywords: diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, apparent diffusion coefficient, cervical cancer, chemoradiation therapy

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