Feasibility study of using virtual non-contrast images derived from dual-energy CT to replace true non-contrast images in patients diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Jiang Zhou ◽  
Yan Zhou ◽  
Hao Hu ◽  
Mei-Ping Shen ◽  
Ying-Qian Ge ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility of using virtual non-contrast (VNC) images derived from dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) to replace true non-contrast (TNC) images of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients. METHODS: Images of 96 PTC patients were retrospectively analyzed. TNC images were acquired under the single-energy mode of DECT after the plain scanning. The arterial and venous phase VNC (VNC-a and VNC-v) images were generated by the post-processing algorithm from the arterial phase and venous phase of contrast-enhanced CT images, respectively. Mean attenuation values, image noise, number and length of calcification were measured. Radiation dose was also calculated. Last, subjective score of image quality was evaluated by a 5-point scale. RESULTS: Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of each tissue in TNC images is significantly higher than that of VNC images (p<0.050). Contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of fat, muscle, thyroid nodules and internal carotid artery in TNC images is significantly higher than that of VNC images, while CNR in TNC images is lower for cervical vertebra (p<0.001). Calcification is detected on TNC images of 44 patients, while it is omitted on VNC images of 14 patients (31.8%). The subjective score of TNC images is higher than VNC images (p<0.001). The effective dose reduction is 47.6% by avoiding plain scanning. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the different attenuation value, SNR, CNR and especially reduced detection rate of calcification, we deem that VNC images cannot be directly used to replace TNC images in PTC patients, despite the reduced radiation dose.

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0261233
Author(s):  
Jimin Yoon ◽  
Yangsean Choi ◽  
Jinhee Jang ◽  
Na-Young Shin ◽  
Kook-Jin Ahn ◽  
...  

Purpose To determine whether dual-energy CT (DECT) has incremental diagnostic value when combined with ultrasound (US) in the diagnosis of metastatic cervical lymph nodes (LNs) in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Methods This was a single-center retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with PTC between October 2019 and August 2020. US features of LNs to include hyperechogenicity, round shape, microcalcification, cystic component, and homogeneous/peripheral vascularity were considered suggestive of metastasis. The HU of arterial phase (HUarterial) and DECT-derived CT images [contrast media (CM) and areas under the 100 keV monoenergetic curve (AUC100keV)] were measured. Effective atomic numbers (Zeff), iodine concentration (mg/mL), and slope of the HU curve (λHU) were also obtained. The values for metastatic and benign LNs were compared using Student’s t-test with false-discovery correction. Logistic regression with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) were performed for predicting metastatic LNs. Results A total of 102 patients were included (49 metastatic and 53 benign LNs; mean age, 46±15 years). Metastatic LNs showed significantly higher values for HUarterial, CM, Zeff, λHU, AUC100keV, and iodine concentration (all, P = 0.001). In logistic regression, the HUarterial demonstrated the highest AUC (0.824; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.751–0.897), followed by CM HU (0.762; 95% CI, 0.679–0.846). Combination of DECT parameters with US features improved the AUC from 0.890 to 0.941. Conclusion Compared to US features alone, combination with DECT-derived quantitative parameters improved diagnostic performance in predicting metastatic cervical LNs in patients with PTC.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Zou ◽  
Huanlei Zhang ◽  
Wenfei Li ◽  
Yu Guo ◽  
Fang Sun ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundThe prediction of ipsilateral lateral cervical lymph node metastasis (ipsi-LLNM) was crucial to the operation plan in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). This study aimed to investigate the risk factors for ipsi-LLNM using dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) and thyroid functional indicators in patients with PTC. MethodsThe medical records of 406 patients with a pathological diagnosis of PTC were retrospectively reviewed from Jan 2016 to Dec 2019. Demographic, clinical, pathological findings, and parameters from DECT were evaluated. Risk factors for ipsi-LLNM were explored by univariate and multivariate analyses. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the cut-off value of each risk factor.ResultsTotally 406 patients with PTC were analyzed, including 128 with ipsi-LLNM and 278 without. There were statistical differences of parameters between the two groups (P < .0001), including serum Tg, Anti-Tg, Anti-TPO, the volume of the primary lesion, calcification, extrathyroidal extension (ETE), and iodine concentration (IC) in arterial and venous phases. Independent risk factors for ipsi-LLNM included serum Tg, Anti-Tg, ETE, and IC in arterial and venous phases (P < .05). Ipsi-LLNM was more likely to occur when the following conditions were met: with ETE, Tg > 100.01 ng/ml, Anti-Tg > 89.43 IU/ml, IC in arterial phase > 3.4 mg/ml and IC in venous phase > 3.1 mg/ml.ConclusionsApplication of DECT parameters and thyroid functional indicators can improve the diagnostic performance in the evaluation of ipsi-LLNM in patients with PTC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoxia Wang ◽  
Daihong Liu ◽  
Xiangfei Zeng ◽  
Shixi Jiang ◽  
Lan Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and Ki67 are the most useful immunohistochemical biomarkers of invasive breast cancer. The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility of quantitative parameters derived from dual-energy CT (DECT) to discriminate immunohistochemical biomarkers of invasive breast cancer. Methods This prospective study enrolled 120 patients with invasive breast cancer who underwent preoperative contrast-enhanced DECT for staging purposes from June 2019 to January 2020. DECT quantitative parameters, including normalized iodine concentration (NIC), the slope of the spectral Hounsfield unit curve (λHu), and the normalized effective atomic number (nZeff), were obtained from reconstructed images. DECT quantitative parameters were compared with the expression status, and the correlations with the value of immunohistochemical biomarkers were evaluated. Inter-observer reproducibility analysis was performed to assess the measurement reproducibility of quantitative parameters. The diagnostic performance of the quantitative parameters was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic curve. Results The ER-negative group tended to display higher venous phase NIC and nZeff compared with the ER-positive group (individually, p = 0.003, 0.011; area under the curve [AUC] of 0.65, 0.60). The PR-negative group demonstrated higher arterial and venous phase NIC compared with the PR-positive group (individually, p = 0.022, 0.005; AUC of 0.63, 0.65). NIC was correlated negatively with the value of ER and PR expression (r = − 0.175 ~ − 0.265, p = 0.002 ~ 0.042). The HER2-positive group tended to display higher venous phase nZeff than the HER2-negative group (p = 0.022; AUC of 0.59). The Ki67 high-proliferation group demonstrated higher arterial phase, venous phase NIC and nZeff than the Ki67 low-proliferation group (p < 0.001 ~ 0.005; AUC of 0.67 ~ 0.75). Both the NIC and nZeff were correlated positively with the value of Ki67 (r = 0.240 ~ 0.490, p < 0.001 ~ 0.014). Conclusions NIC and nZeff derived from DECT could be used to discriminate expression status and may associate with the value of immunohistochemical biomarkers of invasive breast cancer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 2514
Author(s):  
Arkadiusz Zegadło ◽  
Magdalena Żabicka ◽  
Marta Kania-Pudło ◽  
Artur Maliborski ◽  
Aleksandra Różyk ◽  
...  

With lung cancer being the most common malignancy diagnosed worldwide, lung nodule assessment has proved to be one of big challenges of modern medicine. The aim of this study was to examine the usefulness of Dual Energy Computed Tomography (DECT) in solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) assessment. Between January 2017 and June 2018; 65 patients (42 males and 23 females) underwent DECT scans in the late arterial phase (AP) and venous phase (VP). We concluded that imaging at an energy level of 65 keV was the most accurate in detecting malignancy in solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) measuring ≤30 mm in diameter on virtual monochromatic maps. Both virtual monochromatic images and iodine concentration maps prove to be highly useful in differentiating benign and malignant pulmonary nodules. As for iodine concentration maps, the analysis of venous phase images resulted in the highest clinical usefulness. To summarize, DECT may be a useful tool in the differentiation of benign and malignant SPNs. A single-phase DECT examination with scans acquired 90 s after contrast media injection is recommended.


Author(s):  
Bernhard Petritsch ◽  
Aleksander Kosmala ◽  
Tobias Gassenmaier ◽  
Andreas Weng ◽  
Simon Veldhoen ◽  
...  

Purpose To compare radiation dose, subjective and objective image quality of 3 rd generation dual-source CT (DSCT) and dual-energy CT (DECT) with conventional 64-slice single-source CT (SSCT) for pulmonary CTA. Materials and Methods 180 pulmonary CTA studies were performed in three patient cohorts of 60 patients each. Group 1: conventional SSCT 120 kV (ref.); group 2: single-energy DSCT 100 kV (ref.); group 3: DECT 90/Sn150 kV. CTDIvol, DLP, effective radiation dose were reported, and CT attenuation (HU) was measured on three central and peripheral levels. The signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise-ratio (CNR) were calculated. Two readers assessed subjective image quality according to a five-point scale. Results Mean CTDIvol and DLP were significantly lower in the dual-energy group compared to the SSCT group (p < 0.001 [CTDIvol]; p < 0.001 [DLP]) and the DSCT group (p = 0.003 [CTDIvol]; p = 0.003 [DLP]), respectively. The effective dose in the DECT group was 2.79 ± 0.95 mSv and significantly smaller than in the SSCT group (4.60 ± 1.68 mSv, p < 0.001) and the DSCT group (4.24 ± 2.69 mSv, p = 0.003). The SNR and CNR were significantly higher in the DSCT group (p < 0.001). Subjective image quality did not differ significantly among the three protocols and was rated good to excellent in 75 % (135/180) of cases with an inter-observer agreement of 80 %. Conclusion Dual-energy pulmonary CTA protocols of 3 rd generation dual-source scanners allow for significant reduction of radiation dose while providing excellent image quality and potential additional information by means of perfusion maps. Key Points: Citation Format


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document