title: Assessment of esophageal carcinoma undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy with quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) can predict an early response in primary esophageal carcinoma patients undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy. A total of 25 patients with who were pathologically confirmed stage II-III esophageal carcinoma underwent quantitative DCE-MRI prior to chemoradiotherapy, and at 3 weeks post-treatment, the quantitative parameters [Ktrans(volume transfer constant; the rate at which contrast agent distributes from the plasma to the EES), Kep(rate contrast; the rate at which the contrast agent that has diffused to the EES returns to the plasma) and Ve(the contrast agent percentage in the space of the extracellular fluid)] were analyzed respectively. The 25 cases were categorized as a complete response (CR) or a partial response (PR). An independent samples Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the quantitative parameters between CR and PR. A receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to determine the best predictor. In total, 17 patients were in the CR group and 8 patients were in the PR group. Pretreatment Ktrans, Kepand Vevalues were 0.54±0.17/min, 1.12±0.46/min and 0.37±0.14, respectively, in the CR group, and 0.40±0.21/min, 1.07±0.37/min and 0.40±0.22, respectively, in the PR group. There was a significant difference between the two groups for Ktrans, but there were no significant differences between the two groups for Kepand Ve. The Ktrans, Kepand Vevalues at 3 weeks post-treatment were 0.33±0.11/min, 0.86±0.31/min and 0.66±0.05, respectively, in the CR group, and 0.62±0.22/min, 1.19±0.39/min and 0.45±0.19, respectively, in the PR group. The corresponding U values were -3.319, -1.719 and -2.628, respectively, and the P-values were 0.006, 0.119 and 0.021, respectively. The areas under the ROC curve of Ktransprior to chemoradiotherapy, and of Ktransand Kepat 3 weeks post-treatment were 0.648, 0.741 and 0.796, respectively. In conclusion, DCE-MRI can predict an early response in primary esophageal carcinoma following 3 weeks of concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Ktransprior to chemoradiotherapy, and Ktransand Kepat 3 weeks post-treatment are sensitive prediction parameters.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan 453003, P.R. China; Department of Radiology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shaocheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Dapeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shewei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dou
authors.affiliation: Department of Premium Application, GE Healthcare Life Sciences, Beijing 100176, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zihua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Department of Premium Application, GE Healthcare Life Sciences, Beijing 100176, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
keywords: concurrent chemoradiotherapy; esophageal carcinoma; quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging