title: MRI In rectal cancer: Correlations between MRI features and molecular markers Ki-67, HIF-1α, and VEGF.
abstract: To investigate whether the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values acquired from diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) are correlated with molecular markers Ki-67, hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in rectal cancer (RC).
  
  
  
  Ninety-one patients (64 males and 27 females) diagnosed with rectal cancer underwent 3.0T DW-MRI before any anticancer treatment. DW-MRI was performed using the single-shot echo-planar imaging technique (b = 0 and b = 800 s/mm(2) ). The patients underwent surgery within 1 week after MRI. Ki-67, HIF-1α, and VEGF expression were assessed by immunohistochemistry at both the resected margins and the center of the tumor.
  
  
  
  We noted that ADC values correlated positively with histology differentiations (r = 0.336, P = 0.001) and negatively with carcinoembryonic antigen level (r = -0.217, P = 0.039) in RC. Both the value and the level of Ki-67 expression were correlated inversely with the ADC values (r = -0.475, P < 0.001 and r = -0.555, P < 0.001). There was a weak negative correlation between HIF-1α expression and the ADC values (r = -0.304, P = 0.003). VEGF expression was correlated inversely with the ADC values of the RCs (r = -0.290, P = 0.005). However, no significant correlation was observed between VEGF expression and the ADC values in pT4 RCs (r = -0.166, P = 0.255).
  
  
  
  Our results suggest that the ADC values on DW-MRI may be used as a measurement of cell proliferation and hypoxia in RC. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;44:594-600.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology of Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Xiangjiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology of Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Huijuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology of Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Lingling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology of Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Xianguang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Zhaoqin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology of Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Hanxi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology of Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Wanqi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology of Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Xiaolin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology of Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Jinming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology of Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Ligang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xing
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / Q000378:metabolism*; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D000072258:Tumor Hypoxia; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C497442:HIF1A protein, human; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
keywords: ADC values; HIF-1α; Ki-67; VEGF; diffusion-weighted MRI; rectal cancer