Department of Radiology and Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Lab of Shaanxi Province, Tangdu Hospital, Military Medical University of PLA Airforce (Fourth Military Medical University), Xi'an, 710038, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China.
Department of Pathology, Tangdu Hospital, Military Medical University of PLA Airforce (Fourth Military Medical University), Xi'an, 710038, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China.
Eur Radiol. 2019 Oct;29(10):5330-5340. doi: 10.1007/s00330-019-06080-4. Epub 2019 Mar 15.
To explore the value of combining apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) and texture parameters from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in predicting the pathological subtypes and stages of thymic epithelial tumors (TETs).
Fifty-seven patients with TETs confirmed by pathological analysis were retrospectively enrolled. ADC values and optimal texture feature parameters were compared for differences among low-risk thymoma (LRT), high-risk thymoma (HRT), and thymic carcinoma (TC) by one-way ANOVA, and between early and advanced stages of TETs were tested using the independent samples t test. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to determine the differentiating efficacy.
The ADC values in LRT and HRT were significantly higher than the values in TC (p = 0.004 and 0.001, respectively), also in early stage, values were significantly higher than ones in advanced stage of TETs (p < 0.001). Among all texture parameters analyzed in order to differentiate LRT from HRT and TC, the V achieved higher diagnostic efficacy with an AUC of 0.875, and combination of ADC and V achieved the highest diagnostic efficacy with an AUC of 0.933, for differentiating the LRT from HRT and TC. Furthermore, combination of ADC and V achieved a relatively high differentiating ability with an AUC of 0.772, for differentiating early from advanced stages of TETs.
Combination of ADC and DWI texture parameters improved the differentiating ability of TET grades, which could potentially be useful in clinical practice regarding the TET evaluation before treatment.
• DWI texture analysis is useful in differentiating TET subtypes and stages. • Combination of ADC and DWI texture parameters may improve the differentiating ability of TET grades. • DWI texture analysis could potentially be useful in clinical practice regarding the TET evaluation before treatment.
探讨表观扩散系数（ADC）与扩散加权成像（DWI）纹理参数相结合在预测胸腺瘤（TET）病理亚型和分期中的价值。
回顾性纳入 57 例经病理分析证实的 TET 患者。采用单因素方差分析比较低危胸腺瘤（LRT）、高危胸腺瘤（HRT）和胸腺癌（TC）之间 ADC 值和最佳纹理特征参数的差异，采用独立样本 t 检验比较 TET 早期和晚期之间的差异。采用受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析确定鉴别效能。
LRT 和 HRT 的 ADC 值明显高于 TC（p=0.004 和 0.001），早期阶段的 ADC 值明显高于晚期 TET（p<0.001）。在用于区分 LRT、HRT 和 TC 的所有纹理参数中，V 具有最高的诊断效能，AUC 为 0.875，ADC 和 V 的组合具有最高的诊断效能，AUC 为 0.933，用于区分 LRT 和 HRT、TC。此外，ADC 和 V 的组合具有较高的区分能力，AUC 为 0.772，用于区分 TET 早期和晚期。
ADC 和 DWI 纹理参数的组合提高了 TET 分级的鉴别能力，这可能对治疗前 TET 评估的临床实践有用。
• DWI 纹理分析有助于区分 TET 亚型和分期。• ADC 和 DWI 纹理参数的组合可能提高 TET 分级的鉴别能力。• DWI 纹理分析可能对治疗前 TET 评估的临床实践有用。
