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Pelvic insufficiency fracture or bone metastasis after radiotherapy for cervical cancer? The added value of DWI for characterization

  • Magnetic Resonance
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European Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

We sought to determine the added value of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) in the differentiation of pelvic insufficiency fracture (PIF) from bone metastasis after radiotherapy in cervical cancer patients.

Methods

In the present study, 42 cervical cancer patients after radiotherapy with 61 bone lesions (n = 40, PIFs; n = 21, bone metastasis) were included. Conventional MRI and DWI were performed in all patients. For qualitative imaging diagnosis, two sets of images were reviewed independently by three observers, including a conventional MRI set (unenhanced T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and enhanced T1-weighted images) and a DWI set (conventional MRIs, DW images, and ADC maps). The mean ADC value of each lesson was measured on ADC maps. The diagnostic performance was assessed by using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (Az), and sensitivity and specificity were determined.

Results

For all observers, the Az value and sensitivity of the DWI set showed improvement compared with the conventional MRI set. The observer who had the least experience (3 years) demonstrated significant improvement in diagnostic performance with the addition of DWI; Az value increased from 0.804 to 0.915 (p = 0.042) and sensitivity increased from 75.0 to 92.5% (p = 0.035). The mean ADCs of the PIFs were significantly higher than the bone metastases (p < 0.001); ADC values > 0.97 × 10-3 mm2/s yielded an Az of 0.887, a sensitivity of 92.5%, and a specificity of 76.2%.

Conclusions

The addition of DWI to conventional MRI improved the differentiation of PIF from bone metastasis after RT in patients with cervical cancer.

Key Points

DWI showed additive value to conventional MRI in the differentiation of PIF from bone metastasis after RT.

For qualitative diagnosis, the addition of DWI can improve diagnostic performance compared with conventional MRI alone and can particularly improve the sensitivity.

Quantitative ADC assessment showed potential value for identifying PIF from bone metastasis.

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Abbreviations

ADC:

Apparent diffusion coefficient

Az:

Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve

BS:

Bone scintigraphy

CT:

Computed tomography

DWI:

Diffusion-weighted MR imaging

FOV:

Field of view

FS:

Fat-saturated

ICC:

Intraclass correlation coefficient

MRI :

Magnetic resonance imaging

PIF:

Pelvic insufficiency fracture

ROC:

Receiver operating characteristic curve

ROI:

Region of interest

RT:

Radiotherapy

TSE:

Turbo spin echo

VCF:

Vertebral compression fractures

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Acknowledgments

We thank Elixigen Corporation for proof-editing the manuscript.

Funding

This study has received funding from Guangzhou key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging for Clinical Translation (Grant Number 201905010003), Key Program of Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province of China (Grant Number 2018B0303110011), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Number 21317241, Grant Number 81971672).

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Correspondence to Liangping Luo or Kuiming Jiang.

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The scientific guarantor of this publication is Kuiming Jiang.

Conflict of interest

The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.

Statistics and biometry

One of the authors has significant statistical expertise.

No complex statistical methods were necessary for this paper.

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Waiver of informed consent was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee because of its retrospective nature.

Ethical approval

Institutional Review Board approval was obtained.

Methodology

• Retrospective

• Diagnostic or prognostic study

• Performed at one institution

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Zhong, X., Dong, T., Tan, Y. et al. Pelvic insufficiency fracture or bone metastasis after radiotherapy for cervical cancer? The added value of DWI for characterization. Eur Radiol 30, 1885–1895 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-019-06520-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-019-06520-1

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