A comparison of tumour perfusion assessed by deconvolution-based analysis of dynamic contrast-enhanced CT and MR imaging in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract

Abstract

Our aim was to compare the perfusion [blood flow (BF)] values obtained by first-pass dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) T2-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT) imaging of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in the upper aerodigestive tract in the same patient population. Seventeen patients with histologically proven primary SCC of the upper aerodigestive tract were prospectively evaluated. The perfusion CT studies were obtained using a 16-row multi-slice CT scanner running a commercial software package with a deconvolution-based technique; while the perfusion MR studies (1.5 T) were analysed with in-house-written MR perfusion software based also on a deconvolution technique. The mean perfusion values of SCC assessed by perfusion CT and MR imaging were 68.93 +/- 31.61 and 81.56 +/- 49.25 ml/min/100 g, respectively. The Bland-Altman graph showed a proportional error in the perfusion values measured by DCE-CT and -MR imaging; however, the degree of agreement was acceptable (95% limits of agreement: -66.1 to 40.8). Regression analysis of the perfusion values demonstrated significant correlation between the modalities: BF(MR) = 1.34 x BF(CT) - 10.93 (P < 0.0005, r (2) = 0.74). The parametric maps generated by both modalities provided insights into the tumour perfusion, while analysis of the obtained perfusion values demonstrated that both modalities may be used interchangeably in SCC in the upper aerodigestive tract.

An exploratory pilot study into the association between microcirculatory parameters derived by MRI-based pharmacokinetic analysis and glucose utilization estimated by PET-CT imaging in head and neck cancer

“…Although conventional and DCE-MRI and FDG-PET/ CT mapping of head and neck cancer have been investigated in the recent literature, there exists, to our knowledge, no study in which the potential of both functional imaging techniques in the characterisation of head and neck cancer has been investigated within the framework of a head-by-head comparison [16,24,26,41]. A major finding in our study was the significant positive correlation between v e and SUV mean ; because v e is a parameter that is related to the extravasation phase of the contrast agent, whereas K trans is predominantly determined by the plasma volume and flow ("perfusion phase"), we feel that this association is remarkable and reflects the findings of previous studies where a positive correlation was found among blood-to-tissue glucose transport rate, overall glucose flux constant and signal enhancement ratio (which measures semi-quantitatively the washout rate) in untreated breast cancer [42,43].…”

UMMPerfusion: an Open Source Software Tool Towards Quantitative MRI Perfusion Analysis in Clinical Routine

“…This is reflected by numerous studies using deconvolutionbased perfusion analysis for diagnostic of diseases in the brain [9,42], the heart [43,44], the lungs [45,46], the breast [47], the kidneys [48], and the prostate [14]. This technique is not limited to MRI and was also applied to CT perfusion data [49,50]. In principle, the only prerequisite for using deconvolution analysis in all these applications is a bolus tracking experiment.…”

Usefulness of Pseudocontinuous Arterial Spin-Labeling for the Assessment of Patients with Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Measuring Tumor Blood Flow in the Pretreatment and Early Treatment Period

“…7 In patients with HNSCC, the TBF is usually assessed by a dynamic contrast-enhanced method. [8][9][10][11] However, this method is somewhat invasive and requires IV placement and contrast injection, and repetitive scanning is sometimes difficult, especially during chemotherapy when renal dysfunction frequently occurs (approximately 25%-42%) in patients given cisplatin. 12,13 Because of the difficulties of repetitive scanning, there have been few studies of the changes in TBF with repetitive scanning over the treatment period, and the number of patients in these reports is quite small, at 10 to Ͻ20 patients.…”