MR spectroscopic imaging measurement of prostate tumor (Cho + Cr)/Cit and tumor volume correlate with pathologic Gleason score. There is overlap between MR spectroscopic imaging parameters at various Gleason score levels, which may reflect methodologic and physiologic variations. MR spectroscopic imaging has potential in noninvasive assessment of prostate cancer aggressiveness.
Physiological properties of tumors can be measured both in vivo and noninvasively by diffusion‐weighted imaging and dynamic contrast‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. Although these techniques have been used for more than two decades to study tumor diffusion, perfusion, and/or permeability, the methods and studies on how to reduce measurement error and bias in the derived imaging metrics is still lacking in the literature. This is of paramount importance because the objective is to translate these quantitative imaging biomarkers (QIBs) into clinical trials, and ultimately in clinical practice. Standardization of the image acquisition using appropriate phantoms is the first step from a technical performance standpoint. The next step is to assess whether the imaging metrics have clinical value and meet the requirements for being a QIB as defined by the Radiological Society of North America's Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers Alliance (QIBA). The goal and mission of QIBA and the National Cancer Institute Quantitative Imaging Network (QIN) initiatives are to provide technical performance standards (QIBA profiles) and QIN tools for producing reliable QIBs for use in the clinical imaging community. Some of QIBA's development of quantitative diffusion‐weighted imaging and dynamic contrast‐enhanced QIB profiles has been hampered by the lack of literature for repeatability and reproducibility of the derived QIBs. The available research on this topic is scant and is not in sync with improvements or upgrades in MRI technology over the years. This review focuses on the need for QIBs in oncology applications and emphasizes the importance of the assessment of their reproducibility and repeatability.
Level of Evidence: 5
Technical Efficacy Stage: 1
J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;49:e101–e121.
Purpose:To retrospectively determine the accuracy of diffusionweighted (DW) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for identifying cancer in the prostate peripheral zone (PZ) and to assess the accuracy of tumor volume measurements made with T2-weighted imaging and combined T2-weighted and DW MR imaging by using surgical pathologic examination as the reference standard.
Materials and Methods:The institutional review board issued a waiver of informed consent for this HIPAA-compliant study. Forty-two patients underwent endorectal MR at 1.5 T before undergoing radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer and had at least one PZ tumor larger than 0.1 cm 3 at surgical pathologic examination. On T2-weighted images, an experienced radiologist outlined suspected PZ tumors. Two apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) cutoff values were identified by using the Youden index and published literature. Image cluster analysis was performed on voxels within the suspected tumor regions. Associations between volume measurements from imaging and from pathologic examination were assessed by using concordance correlation coefficients (CCCs). The sensitivity and specificity of ADCs for identifying malignant PZ voxels were calculated.
Results:In identifying malignant voxels, respective ADC cutoff values of 0.0014 and 0.0016 mm 2 /sec yielded sensitivity of 82% and 95% and specificity of 85% and 65%, respectively. Sixty PZ cancer lesions larger than 0.1 cm 3 were found at pathologic examination; 43 were detected by the radiologist. CCCs between imaging and pathologic tumor volume measurements were 0.36 for T2-weighted imaging, and 0.46 and 0.60 for combined T2-weighted and DW MR imaging with ADC cutoffs of 0.0014 and 0.0016 mm 2 / sec, respectively; the CCC of combined T2-weighted and DW MR imaging (ADC cutoff, 0.0016 mm 2 /sec) was significantly higher (P ϭ .006) than that of T2-weighted imaging alone.
Conclusion:Adding DW MR to T2-weighted imaging can significantly improve the accuracy of prostate PZ tumor volume measurement. RSNA, 2009 Supplemental Note: This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues or clients, use the Radiology Reprints form at the end of this article.A ccurate noninvasive measurement of prostate cancer tumor volume could substantially improve the determination of tumor prognosis and assist in the selection of appropriate treatment. Studies (1-4) have shown that pathologic tumor volume correlates with pathologic stage, pathologic Gleason grade, margin status, and disease progression after radical prostatectomy. Tumors smaller than about 0.5 cm 3 and with no Gleason pattern 4 or 5 cancer are considered to be clinically insignificant and potentially appropriate for deferred therapy (5). McNeal et al (6) found that capsule penetration, seminal vesicle invasion, and positive surgical margins all correlated strongly with cancer volume. The latter study also showed that metastasis is highly likely when tumor volume is larger than 12 cm 3 , whereas ...
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