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Quantitative parameters derived from 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging can accurately estimate the histologic grade of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma preoperatively

  • Head-Neck-ENT Radiology
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Among head and neck cancers, hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HSCC) shows the highest malignancy, which is associated with histologic grading. This study was designed to investigate whether quantitative parameters derived from 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (18F-FDG PET/MRI) can preoperatively estimate the histologic grade of HSCC.

Methods

18F-FDG PET/MRI of neck was successfully performed in 21 patients with histologically proven HSCC including poorly differentiated group (ten patients) and well-moderately differentiated group (eleven patients). Quantitative parameters derived from FDG-PET, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and dynamic contrast enhanced-magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) were calculated based on volume of interest drawn on the tumor and compared between two groups. The efficacy of quantitative parameters for the estimation of histologic grades of HSCC was evaluated.

Results

There were statistically significant differences in mean value of standard uptake value (SUV), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and Ktrans derived from 18F-FDG PET/MRI of HSCC between two groups (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in other quantitative parameters derived from 18F-FDG PET/MRI of HSCC between two groups. The area under the curve (AUC) of the combination of SUVmean, ADCmean, and Ktrans in the estimation of histologic grade of HSCC was 0.936 with sensitivity of 90.0% and specificity of 81.8%.

Conclusion

The combination of SUVmean, ADCmean, and Ktrans derived from 18F-FDG PET/MRI can accurately predict the histologic grade of HSCC preoperatively.

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Abbreviations

ADC:

Apparent diffusion coefficient

AUC:

Area under the curve

CCRT:

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy

CT:

Computer tomography

DCE:

Dynamic contrast enhanced

DWI:

Diffusion-weighted imaging

FDG:

Fluorodeoxyglucose

HSCC:

Hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

HNSCC:

Head and neck squamous cell cancer

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

MTV:

Metabolic tumor volume

PET:

Positron emission tomography

SUV:

Standard uptake value

TLG:

Total lesion glycolysis

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Acknowledgements

We kindly thank Dr. Jie Lu from Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, for providing technical support.

Funding

This work was funded by the Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals Dengfeng Plan (DFL20190203) and Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals Clinical Medicine Development of Special Funding Support (ZYLX201704).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Zhaoting Meng and Lingyu Zhang contributed equally to this work and share the first authorship.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 1, DongJiaoMinXiang Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730, China

    Zhaoting Meng, Lingyu Zhang & Junfang Xian

  2. Department of PET/MRI, Shanghai Universal Medical Imaging Diagnostic Center, Shanghai, 200233, China

    Zhaoting Meng

  3. Department of Radiology, Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, 530022, China

    Caiyun Huang

  4. Department of Pathology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100730, China

    Yingshi Piao

  5. Beijing Key Laboratory of Head and Neck Molecular Diagnostic Pathology, Beijing, 100730, China

    Yingshi Piao

  6. Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100730, China

    Xiaohong Chen

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  1. Zhaoting Meng
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Correspondence to Junfang Xian.

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Meng, Z., Zhang, L., Huang, C. et al. Quantitative parameters derived from 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging can accurately estimate the histologic grade of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma preoperatively. Neuroradiology 64, 2153–2162 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-022-03052-2

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