Correlation between histogram-based DCE-MRI parameters and .sup.18F-FDG PET values in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: Evaluation in primary tumors and metastatic nodes

• Published in: PloS one 2020-03, Vol.15 (3), p.e0229611
• Main Authors: Vidiri, Antonello, Gangemi, Emma, Ruberto, Emanuela, Pasqualoni, Rosella, Sciuto, Rosa, Sanguineti, Giuseppe, Farneti, Alessia, Benevolo, Maria, Rollo, Francesca, Sperati, Francesca, Spasiano, Filomena, Pellini, Raul, Marzi, Simona, Bergsland, Niels
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological markers; Cable television broadcasting industry; Cancer; Cancer metastasis; Carcinoma; Diagnostic imaging; Glucose metabolism; Magnetic resonance imaging; Positron emission tomography; Rankings; Sport utility vehicles; Squamous cell carcinoma; Tomography; Tumors
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229611

To investigate the correlation between histogram-based Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) parameters and positron emission tomography with .sup.18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (.sup.18 F-FDG-PET) values in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), both in primary tumors (PTs) and in metastatic lymph nodes (LNs). 52 patients with a new pathologically-confirmed OPSCC were included in the present retrospective cohort study. Imaging including DCE-MRI and .sup.18 F-FDG PET/CT scans were acquired in all patients. Both PTs and the largest LN, if present, were volumetrically contoured. Quantitative parameters, including the transfer constants, K.sup.trans and K.sub.ep, and the volume of extravascular extracellular space, v.sub.e, were calculated from DCE-MRI. The percentiles (P), P10, P25, P50, P75, P90, and skewness, kurtosis and entropy were obtained from the histogram-based analysis of each perfusion parameter. Standardized uptake values (SUV), SUV.sub.max, SUV.sub.peak, SUV.sub.mean, metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were calculated applying a SUV threshold of 40%. The correlations between all variables were investigated with the Spearman-rank correlation test. To exclude false positive results under multiple testing, the Benjamini-Hockberg procedure was applied. No significant correlations were found between any parameters in PTs, while significant associations emerged between K.sup.trans and .sup.18 F-FDG PET parameters in LNs. Evident relationships emerged between DCE-MRI and .sup.18 F-FDG PET parameters in OPSCC LNs, while no association was found in PTs. The complex relationships between perfusion and metabolic biomarkers should be interpreted separately for primary tumors and lymph-nodes. A multiparametric approach to analyze PTs and LNs before treatment is advisable in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).