title: Correlation between equivalent cross-relaxation rate and cellular density in soft tissue tumors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Equivalent cross-relaxation rate (ECR) imaging (ECRI), which allows quantitation of macromolecular tissue components, is a potentially useful nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique for histopathological diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to compare ECR values among various histological types and assess the correlation between ECR and tumor cellular image in soft tissue tumors.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed ECRI to evaluate cellular images of soft tissue tumors and tumorous lesions. Thirty-three patients who underwent evaluation with MRI and ECRI at the first visit were enrolled. Resection or biopsy was performed to obtain a histopathological diagnosis, followed by cell density measurement. ECR values of the histological subgroups were compared, and the correlation between ECR and cell density was analyzed to assess whether ECR can be used as an indicator of histological cell density.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ECR values for benign tumors varied widely and were not significantly different from those for malignant tumors. However, the mean ECR value was significantly higher for high-grade malignant tumors than for low-grade tumors (p < 0.01). Moreover, a positive correlation was found between ECR and cell density (r s = 0.72; p < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ECR reflects the cell density and malignancy grade of a soft tissue tumor. ECRI could provide cellular imaging and useful clinical information to aid the pre-operative diagnosis of soft tissue tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Aichi Cancer Center, Nagoya, Japan, shamada@med.nagoya-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Shunsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hamada
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsushima
authors.forename: Hideshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sugiura
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishida
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ishiguro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002452:Cell Count / Q000379:methods; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult