Bruckmann Nils Martin, Kirchner Julian, Morawitz Janna, Umutlu Lale, Fendler Wolfgang P, Herrmann Ken, Bittner Ann-Kathrin, Hoffmann Oliver, Fehm Tanja, Lindemann Maike E, Buchbender Christian, Antoch Gerald, Sawicki Lino M
Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, University Dusseldorf, Moorenstrasse 5, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45147, Essen, Germany.
EJNMMI Phys. 2022 Feb 7;9(1):11. doi: 10.1186/s40658-022-00439-1.
The free-breathing T1-weighted 3D Stack of Stars GRE (StarVIBE) MR sequence potentially reduces artifacts in chest MRI. The purpose of this study was to evaluate StarVIBE for the detection of pulmonary nodules in F-FDG PET/MRI.
In this retrospective analysis, conducted on a prospective clinical trial cohort, 88 consecutive women with newly diagnosed breast cancer underwent both contrast-enhanced whole-body F-FDG PET/MRI and computed tomography (CT). Patients' chests were examined on CT as well as on StarVIBE and conventional T1-weighted VIBE and T2-weighted HASTE MR sequences, with CT serving as the reference standard. Presence, size, and location of all detectable lung nodules were assessed. Wilcoxon test was applied to compare nodule features and Pearson's, and Spearman's correlation coefficients were calculated.
Out of 65 lung nodules detected in 36 patients with CT (3.7 ± 1.4 mm), StarVIBE was able to detect 31 (47.7%), VIBE 26 (40%) and HASTE 11 (16.8%), respectively. Overall, CT showed a significantly higher detectability than all MRI sequences combined (65 vs. 36, difference 44.6%, p < 0.001). The VIBE showed a significantly better detection rate than the HASTE (23.1%, p = 0.001). Detection rates between StarVIBE and VIBE did not significantly differ (7.7%, p = 0.27), but the StarVIBE showed a significant advantage detecting centrally located pulmonary nodules (66.7% vs. 16.7%, p = 0.031). There was a strong correlation in nodule size between CT and MRI sequences (HASTE: ρ = 0.80, p = 0.003; VIBE: ρ = 0.77, p < 0.001; StarVIBE: ρ = 0.78, p < 0.001). Mean image quality was rated as good to excellent for CT and MRI sequences.
The overall lung nodule detection rate of StarVIBE was slightly, but not significantly, higher than conventional T1w VIBE and significantly higher than T2w HASTE. Detectability of centrally located nodules is better with StarVIBE than with VIBE. Nevertheless, all MRI analyses demonstrated considerably lower detection rates for small lung nodules, when compared to CT.
自由呼吸的T1加权三维梯度回波（StarVIBE）磁共振序列可能会减少胸部磁共振成像中的伪影。本研究的目的是评估StarVIBE在F-FDG PET/MRI中检测肺结节的能力。
在这项对前瞻性临床试验队列进行的回顾性分析中，88例新诊断为乳腺癌的连续女性患者接受了对比增强全身F-FDG PET/MRI和计算机断层扫描（CT）检查。对患者的胸部进行CT、StarVIBE以及传统的T1加权容积内插屏气检查法（VIBE）和T2加权快速自旋回波（HASTE）磁共振序列检查，以CT作为参考标准。评估所有可检测到的肺结节的存在、大小和位置。应用Wilcoxon检验比较结节特征，并计算Pearson和Spearman相关系数。
在36例经CT检测出肺结节的患者中（65个结节，直径3.7±1.4毫米），StarVIBE能够检测出31个（47.7%），VIBE能检测出26个（40%），HASTE能检测出11个（16.8%）。总体而言，CT显示出的可检测性显著高于所有磁共振序列检测结果之和（65个对36个，差异44.6%，p<0.001）。VIBE显示出的检测率显著高于HASTE（23.1%，p=0.001）。StarVIBE和VIBE之间的检测率没有显著差异（7.7%，p= 0.27），但StarVIBE在检测位于中央的肺结节方面具有显著优势（66.7%对16.7%，p=0.031）。CT与磁共振序列之间的结节大小存在很强的相关性（HASTE：ρ=0.80，p=0.003；VIBE：ρ=0.77，p<0.001；StarVIBE：ρ=0.78，p<0.001）。CT和磁共振序列的平均图像质量评级为良好至优秀。
StarVIBE的总体肺结节检测率略高于传统的T1加权VIBE，但差异不显著，且显著高于T2加权HASTE。StarVIBE对位于中央的结节的可检测性优于VIBE。然而，与CT相比，所有磁共振分析显示对小肺结节的检测率要低得多。
