MRI-Based Assessment of Safe Margins in Tumor Surgery.
Introduction. In surgical oncology, histological analysis of excised tumor specimen is the conventional method to assess the safety of the resection margins. We tested the feasibility of using MRI to assess the resection margins of freshly explanted tumor specimens in rats. Materials and Methods. Fourteen specimen of sarcoma were resected in rats and analysed both with MRI and histologically. Slicing of the specimen was identical for the two methods and corresponding slices were paired. 498 margins were measured in length and classified using the UICC classification (R0, R1, and R2). Results. The mean difference between the 498 margins measured both with histology and MRI was 0.3 mm (SD 1.0 mm). The agreement interval of the two measurement methods was [-1.7 mm; 2.2 mm]. In terms of the UICC classification, a strict correlation was observed between MRI- and histology-based classifications (κ = 0.84, P < 0.05). Discussion. This experimental study showed the feasibility to use MRI images of excised tumor specimen to assess the resection margins with the same degree of accuracy as the conventional histopathological analysis. When completed, MRI acquisition of resected tumors may alert the surgeon in case of inadequate margin and help advantageously the histopathological analysis.
Computer Assisted and Robotic Surgery (CARS), Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique (IREC), Université catholique de Louvain Tour Pasteur +4, Avenue Mounier, 53, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
Laura
L
Bellanova
Computer Assisted and Robotic Surgery (CARS), Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique (IREC), Université catholique de Louvain Tour Pasteur +4, Avenue Mounier, 53, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
Thomas
T
Schubert
Computer Assisted and Robotic Surgery (CARS), Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique (IREC), Université catholique de Louvain Tour Pasteur +4, Avenue Mounier, 53, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
Olivier
O
Cartiaux
Département D'imagerie Médicale, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc 10, Avenue Hippocrate, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
Frédéric
F
Lecouvet
Département de Pathologie, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc 10, Avenue Hippocrate, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
Christine
C
Galant
Computer Assisted and Robotic Surgery (CARS), Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique (IREC), Université catholique de Louvain Tour Pasteur +4, Avenue Mounier, 53, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
Xavier
X
Banse
Computer Assisted and Robotic Surgery (CARS), Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique (IREC), Université catholique de Louvain Tour Pasteur +4, Avenue Mounier, 53, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
Pierre-Louis
PL
Docquier