Dataset Information

Assessing the variability and correlation between SUV and ADC parameters of head and neck cancers derived from simultaneous PET/MRI: A single-center study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Intratumoral heterogeneity is associated with poor outcomes in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients owing to chemoradiotherapy resistance. [¹⁸ F]-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) / Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provides spatial information about tumor mass, allowing intratumor heterogeneity assessment through histogram analysis. However, variability in quantitative PET/MRI parameter measurements could influence their reliability in assessing patient prognosis. Therefore, to use standardized uptake value (SUV) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) parameters for assessing tumor response, this study aimed to measure SUV and ADC's variability and assess their relationship in HNC.

Methods

First, ADC variability was measured in an in-house diffusion phantom and in five healthy volunteers. The SUV variability was only measured with the NEMA phantom using a clinical imaging protocol. Furthermore, simultaneous PET/MRI data of 11 HNC patients were retrospectively collected from the National Cyclotron and PET center in Chulabhorn Hospital. Tumor contours were manually drawn from PET images by an experienced nuclear medicine radiologist before tumor volume segmentation. Next, SUV and ADC's histogram were used to extract statistic variables of ADC and SUV: mean, median, min, max, skewness, kurtosis, and 5^th , 10^th , 25^th , 50^th , 75^th , 90^th , and 95^th percentiles. Finally, the correlation between the statistic variables of ADC and SUV, as well as Metabolic Tumor volume and Total Lesion Glycolysis parameters was assessed using Pearson's correlation.

Results

This pilot study showed that both parameters' maximum coefficient of variation was 13.9% and 9.8% in the phantom and in vivo, respectively. Furthermore, we found a strong and negative correlation between SUV_max and ADV_med (r = -0.75, P = 0.01).

Conclusion

The SUV and ADC obtained by simultaneous PET/MRI can be potentially used as an imaging biomarker for assessing intratumoral heterogeneity in patients with HNC. The low variability and relationship between SUV and ADC could allow multimodal prediction of tumor response in future studies.

SUBMITTER: Wongsa P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10161023 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Assessing the variability and correlation between SUV and ADC parameters of head and neck cancers derived from simultaneous PET/MRI: A single-center study.

Wongsa Paramest P Nantasuk Mayurachat M Singhnoi Sinirun S Pawano Phattarasaya P Jantarato Attapon A Siripongsatian Dheeratama D Lerdsirisuk Pradith P Phonlakrai Monchai M

Journal of applied clinical medical physics 20230210 5

<h4>Objective</h4>Intratumoral heterogeneity is associated with poor outcomes in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients owing to chemoradiotherapy resistance. [<sup>18</sup> F]-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) / Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provides spatial information about tumor mass, allowing intratumor heterogeneity assessment through histogram analysis. However, variability in quantitative PET/MRI parameter measurements could influence their reliability in assessing patient prognosis ...[more]

PMID: 36763489

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Project description:ObjectiveSimultaneous PET/MRIs vary in their quantitative PET performance due to inherent differences in the physical systems and differences in the image reconstruction implementation. This variability in quantitative accuracy confounds the ability to meaningfully combine and compare data across scanners. In this work, we define image reconstruction parameters that lead to comparable contrast recovery curves across simultaneous PET/MRI systems.MethodThe NEMA NU-2 image quality phantom was imaged on one GE Signa and on one Siemens mMR PET/MRI scanner. The phantom was imaged at 9.7:1 contrast with standard spheres (diameter 10, 13, 17, 22, 28, 37 mm) and with custom spheres (diameter: 8.5, 11.5, 15, 25, 32.5, 44 mm) using a standardized methodology. Analysis was performed on a 30 min listmode data acquisition and on 6 realizations of 5 min from the listmode data. Images were reconstructed with the manufacturer provided iterative image reconstruction algorithms with and without point spread function (PSF) modeling. For both scanners, a post-reconstruction Gaussian filter of 3-7 mm in steps of 1 mm was applied. Attenuation correction was provided from a scaled computed tomography (CT) image of the phantom registered to the MR-based attenuation images and verified to align on the non-attenuation corrected PET images. For each of these image reconstruction parameter sets, contrast recovery coefficients (CRCs) were determined for the SUVmean, SUVmax and SUVpeak for each sphere. A hybrid metric combining the root-mean-squared discrepancy (RMSD) and the absolute CRC values was used to simultaneously optimize for best match in CRC between the two scanners while simultaneously weighting toward higher resolution reconstructions. The image reconstruction parameter set was identified as the best candidate reconstruction for each vendor for harmonized PET image reconstruction.ResultsThe range of clinically relevant image reconstruction parameters demonstrated widely different quantitative performance across cameras. The best match of CRC curves was obtained at the lowest RMSD values with: for CRCmean, 2 iterations-7 mm filter on the GE Signa and 4 iterations-6 mm filter on the Siemens mMR, for CRCmax, 4 iterations-6 mm filter on the GE Signa, 4 iterations-5 mm filter on the Siemens mMR and for CRCpeak, 4 iterations-7 mm filter with PSF on the GE Signa and 4 iterations-7 mm filter on the Siemens mMR. Over all reconstructions, the RMSD between CRCs was 1.8%, 3.6% and 2.9% for CRC mean, max and peak, respectively. The solution of 2 iterations-3 mm on the GE Signa and 4 iterations-3 mm on Siemens mMR, both with PSF, led to simultaneous harmonization and with high CRC and low RMSD for CRC mean, max and peak with RMSD values of 2.8%, 5.8% and 3.2%, respectively.ConclusionsFor two commercially available PET/MRI scanners, user-selectable parameters that control iterative updates, image smoothing and PSF modeling provide a range of contrast recovery curves that allow harmonization in harmonization strategies of optimal match in CRC or high CRC values. This work demonstrates that nearly identical CRC curves can be obtained on different commercially available scanners by selecting appropriate image reconstruction parameters.

Project description:ObjectiveTo compare the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in lymph node metastases of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with standardized uptake values (SUV) derived from combined 18F-fluoro-deoxy-glucose-positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (18F-FDG PET/MRI).Material and methods38 patients with histopathologically proven NSCLC (mean age 60.1 ± 9.5 y) received whole-body PET/CT (Siemens mCT™) 60 min after injection of a mean dose of 280 ± 50 MBq 18F-FDG and subsequent PET/MRI (mean time after tracer injection: 139 ± 26 min, Siemens Biograph mMR). During PET acquisition, simultaneous diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI, b values: 0, 500, 1000 s/mm²) was performed. A maximum of 10 lymph nodes per patient suspicious for malignancy were analyzed. Regions of interest (ROI) were drawn covering the entire lymph node on the attenuation-corrected PET-image and the monoexponential ADC-map. According to histopathology or radiological follow-up, lymph nodes were classified as benign or malignant. Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated for all lymph node metastases correlating SUVmax and SUVmean with ADCmean.ResultsA total of 146 suspicious lymph nodes were found in 25 patients. One hundred lymph nodes were eligible for final analysis. Ninety-one lymph nodes were classified as malignant and 9 as benign according to the reference standard. In malignant lesions, mean SUVmax was 9.1 ± 3.8 and mean SUVmean was 6.0 ± 2.5 while mean ADCmean was 877.0 ± 128.6 x10(-5) mm²/s in PET/MRI. For all malignant lymph nodes, a weak, inverse correlation between SUVmax and ADCmean as well as SUVmean and ADCmean (r = -0.30, p<0.05 and r = -0.36, p<0.05) existed.ConclusionThe present data show a weak inverse correlation between increased glucose-metabolism and cellularity in lymph node metastases of NSCLC patients. 18F-FDG-PET and DWI thus may offer complementary information for the evaluation of treatment response in lymph node metastases of NSCLC.

Project description:BackgroundSystemic inflammation is predictive of the overall survival in cancer patients and is related to the density of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment of cancer, which in turn correlates with 18F -fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) metabolic parameters (MPs). The density of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in the microenvironment has the potential to be a biomarker that can be used clinically to optimize patient selection in oropharyngeal head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). There is little to no data regarding the association of systemic inflammation with PET/CT-MPs, especially in HNSCC. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between markers of host inflammation, namely blood neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), with the PET/CT-MPs standardized uptake value (SUV), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) of the primary tumor, derived from FDG-PET/CT in patients with nonmetastatic (cM0) HNSCC before treatment. We hypothesized that NLR and PLR at baseline are positively correlated with PET/CT-MPs.MethodsA retrospective review of consecutive patients with HNSCC with a pretreatment PET/CT was performed. NLR and PLR were computed using complete blood counts measured within 10 days before the start of any treatment. The correlation between NLR and PLR with PET/CT-MPs was evaluated with Spearman's rho test.ResultsSeventy-one patients were analyzed. Overall survival (OS) at 1, 2, and 3 years was 86%, 76%, and 68%. PLR was found to be correlated with MTV (rho = 0.26, P = .03) and TLG (rho = 0.28, P = .02) but not with maximum SUV or mean SUV. There was no correlation between NLR and the analyzed PET/CT-MPs. TLG was associated with worse survival in uni- and multivariable analysis, but no other PET/CT-MPs were associated with either OS or disease-specific survival (DSS). NLR and PLR were associated with OS and DSS on uni- and multivariable analysis.ConclusionsIn patients with HNSCC before any treatment such as definitive radio (chemo)therapy or oncologic surgery followed by adjuvant RT, baseline PLR correlated with MTV and TLG but not with SUV. NLR was not correlated with any PET/CT-MPs analyzed in our study. Confirmatory studies are needed, and a potential interaction between tumor microenvironment, host inflammation, and FDG-PET/CT measures warrants further investigation.

Project description:PurposeTumor hypoxia is a major cause of radiation resistance, often present in various solid tumors. Dynamic [18 F]-fluoromisonidazole (FMISO) PET imaging is able to reliably assess tumor hypoxia. Comprehensive characterization of tumor microenvironment through FMISO-PET and dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) MR multimodality imaging might be a valuable alternative to the dynamic FMISO-PET acquisition. The aim of this work was to explore the correlation between the FMISO-PET and DCE-MRI kinetic parameters.MethodsThis study was done on head and neck cancer patients (N = 6), who were imaged dynamically with FMISO-PET and DCE-MRI on the same day. Images were registered and analyzed for kinetics on a voxel basis. FMISO-PET images were analyzed with the two-tissue compartment three rate-constant model. Additionally, tumor-to-muscle ratio (TMR) maps were evaluated. DCE-MRI was analyzed with the extended Tofts model. Voxel-wise Pearson's coefficients were calculated for each patient to assess pairwise parameter correlations.ResultsMedian correlations between FMISO uptake parameters and DCE-MRI kinetic parameters varied across the parameter pairs in the range from -0.05 to 0.71. The highest median correlation of r = 0.71 was observed for the pair Vb -vp , while the K1 -Ktrans median correlation was r = 0.45. Median correlation coefficients for the K1 -vp and the Ki -Ktrans pairs were r = 0.42 and r = 0.32, respectively. Correlations between FMISO uptake rate parameter Ki and DCE-MRI kinetic parameters varied substantially across the patients, whereas correlations between the FMISO and DCE-MRI vascular parameters were consistently high. Median TMR-K1 and TMR-Ktrans correlations were r = 0.52 and r = 0.46, respectively, but varied substantially across the patients.ConclusionsBased on this clinical evidence, we can conclude that the vascular fraction parameters obtained through DCE-MRI kinetic analysis or FMISO kinetic analysis measure the same biological property, while other kinetic parameters are unrelated. These results might be useful in the design of future clinical trials involving FMISO-PET/DCE-MR multimodality imaging for the assessment of tumor microenvironment.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Today, the standardized uptake value (SUV) is essentially the only means for quantitative evaluation of static [18F-]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) investigations. However, the SUV approach has several well-known shortcomings which adversely affect the reliability of the SUV as a surrogate of the metabolic rate of glucose consumption. The standard uptake ratio (SUR), i.e., the uptake time-corrected ratio of tumor SUV to image-derived arterial blood SUV, has been shown in the first clinical studies to overcome most of these shortcomings, to decrease test-retest variability, and to increase the prognostic value in comparison to SUV. However, it is unclear, to what extent the SUR approach is vulnerable to observer variability of the additionally required blood SUV (BSUV) determination. The goal of the present work was the investigation of the interobserver variability of image-derived BSUV. METHODS:FDG PET/CT scans from 83 patients (72 male, 11 female) with non-small cell lung cancer (N = 46) or head and neck cancer (N = 37) were included. BSUV was determined by 8 individuals, each applying a dedicated delineation tool for the BSUV determination in the aorta. Two of the observers applied two further tools. Altogether, five different delineation tools were used. With each used tool, delineation was performed for the whole patient group, resulting in 12 distinct observations per patient. Intersubject variability of BSUV determination was assessed using the fractional deviations for the individual patients from the patient group average and was quantified as standard deviation (SD is), 95% confidence interval, and range. Interobserver variability of BSUV determination was assessed using the fractional deviations of the individual observers from the observer-average for the considered patient and quantified as standard deviations (SD p, SD d) or root mean square (RMS), 95% confidence interval, and range in each patient, each observer, and the pooled data respectively. RESULTS:Interobserver variability in the pooled data amounts to RMS = 2.8% and is much smaller than the intersubject variability of BSUV (SD is= 16%). Averaged over the whole patient group, deviations of individual observers from the observer average are very small and fall in the range [ - 0.96, 1.05]%. However, interobserver variability partly differs distinctly for different patients, covering a range of [0.7, 7.4]% in the investigated patient group. CONCLUSION:The present investigation demonstrates that the image-based manual determination of BSUV in the aorta is sufficiently reproducible across different observers and delineation tools which is a prerequisite for accurate SUR determination. This finding is in line with the already demonstrated superior prognostic value of SUR in comparison to SUV in the first clinical studies.

Dataset Information

Assessing the variability and correlation between SUV and ADC parameters of head and neck cancers derived from simultaneous PET/MRI: A single-center study.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Assessing the variability and correlation between SUV and ADC parameters of head and neck cancers derived from simultaneous PET/MRI: A single-center study.

Similar Datasets

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