title: Pretreatment Diffusion-Weighted MRI Can Predict the Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Patients with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the potential of diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for predicting the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-two consecutive patients with NPC who underwent three cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed. DW and anatomical MRI were performed before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to radiotherapy. Pretreatment ADCs and percentage increases in ADC after chemotherapy were calculated for the primary lesions and metastatic adenopathies. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to select optimal pretreatment ADCs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pretreatment mean ADCs were significantly lower for responders than for nonresponders (primary lesions, P = 0.012; metastatic adenopathies, P = 0.013). Mean percentage increases in ADC were higher for responders than for nonresponders (primary lesions, P = 0.008; metastatic adenopathies, P < 0.001). The optimal pretreatment primary lesion and metastatic adenopathy ADCs for differentiating responders from nonresponders were 0.897 × 10(-3) mm(2)/sec and 1.031 × 10(-3) mm(2)/sec, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NPC patients with low pretreatment ADCs tend to respond better to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Pretreatment ADCs could be used as a new pretreatment imaging biomarker of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, Cancer Research Institute, Foshan Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, China.
authors.forename: Guo-Yi
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, Cancer Research Institute, Foshan Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, China.
authors.forename: Yue-Jian
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Imaging Diagnosis Center, Foshan Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Imaging Diagnosis Center, Foshan Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, China.
authors.forename: Xin-Han
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Imaging Diagnosis Center, Foshan Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Feng
authors.initials: ZF
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, Cancer Research Institute, Foshan Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, China.
authors.forename: Xiang-Ping
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, Cancer Research Institute, Foshan Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, Cancer Research Institute, Foshan Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Hong
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, Cancer Research Institute, Foshan Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D002277:Carcinoma; D065187:Controlled Before-After Studies; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000077274:Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies