Gang Liu1, Zhijie Yang2, Tianran Li1, Li Yang3, Xiangdong Zheng2, Lijie Cai2. 1. Department of Radiology, The 1st Affiliated Hospital of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China. 2. Department of Radiology, The 95th Hospital of PLA, Putian, China. 3. Department of Radiology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To study the optimization of b-values of magnetic resonance-diffusion-weighted (MR-DWI) in evaluating the chemoradiotherapeutic efficacy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and measuring the longitudinal length of gross tumor volume (GTV) of ESCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighteen patients with biopsy-proven ESCC were undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with DWI using b-values of 600 s/mm2, 800 s/mm2, and 1000 s/mm2 was performed before CCRT and after the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 10th weeks. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of ESCC were derived from DWI using multiple b-values. The correlations between ADC values and apoptosis positive rates of ESCC cells obtained from the endoscope biopsy were statistically analyzed. Thirty-eight patients with confirmed ESCC who underwent radical surgery were analyzed. Longitudinal length of GTV of ESCC was measured using endoscopy, esophageal barium fluoroscopy, computed tomography (CT), and T2-weighted MRI and DWI using different b-values (b = 400, 600, and 800 s/mm2) before surgery and were compared with pathologic lesion length. RESULTS: The ADC values of DWI images with different b-values are positively correlated with ESCC cell apoptosis positive ratios, the relation is significant, especially in the group of b = 1000 s/mm2 (P < 0.01). The measured length of esophageal lesions from short to long was MR-DWI b = 800 s/mm2, endoscopy, real tumor, MR-DWI b = 600 s/mm2, esophageal barium fluoroscopy, CT, and MR-DWI b = 400 s/mm2. CONCLUSION: MR-DWI b = 800 s/mm2 and b = 1000 s/mm2 are in favor of observing the chemoradiotherapeutic efficacy with time variation and evaluating the chemoradiotherapeutic efficacy, respectively. MR-DWI b = 600 s/mm2 could be used as a supplementary means in measuring the length of ESCC.
PURPOSE: To study the optimization of b-values of magnetic resonance-diffusion-weighted (MR-DWI) in evaluating the chemoradiotherapeutic efficacy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and measuring the longitudinal length of gross tumor volume (GTV) of ESCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighteen patients with biopsy-proven ESCC were undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with DWI using b-values of 600 s/mm2, 800 s/mm2, and 1000 s/mm2 was performed before CCRT and after the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 10th weeks. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of ESCC were derived from DWI using multiple b-values. The correlations between ADC values and apoptosis positive rates of ESCC cells obtained from the endoscope biopsy were statistically analyzed. Thirty-eight patients with confirmed ESCC who underwent radical surgery were analyzed. Longitudinal length of GTV of ESCC was measured using endoscopy, esophageal barium fluoroscopy, computed tomography (CT), and T2-weighted MRI and DWI using different b-values (b = 400, 600, and 800 s/mm2) before surgery and were compared with pathologic lesion length. RESULTS: The ADC values of DWI images with different b-values are positively correlated with ESCC cell apoptosis positive ratios, the relation is significant, especially in the group of b = 1000 s/mm2 (P < 0.01). The measured length of esophageal lesions from short to long was MR-DWI b = 800 s/mm2, endoscopy, real tumor, MR-DWI b = 600 s/mm2, esophageal barium fluoroscopy, CT, and MR-DWI b = 400 s/mm2. CONCLUSION: MR-DWI b = 800 s/mm2 and b = 1000 s/mm2 are in favor of observing the chemoradiotherapeutic efficacy with time variation and evaluating the chemoradiotherapeutic efficacy, respectively. MR-DWI b = 600 s/mm2 could be used as a supplementary means in measuring the length of ESCC.