title: Application of FLASH-3D dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging for diagnosis of endometrial carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the application and value of fast low-angle shot three-dimensional (FLASH-3D) dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI for the pre-operative staging of endometrial carcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective study enrolled 48 patients with complete clinical data and pathologically confirmed endometrial carcinoma from July 2012 to March 2014. After routine MRI examination, subjects underwent FLASH-3D dynamic contrast-enhanced examination. The dynamically enhanced features of the uterine wall and tumours were analyzed. FLASH-3D pre-operative staging and findings in relation to myometrial invasion were compared with post-operative pathological results in a double-blind manner.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 48 cases of pathologically proven endometrial carcinoma, including 34 patients with Stage I (Stage Ia 22 cases and Stage Ib 12 cases), 9 with Stage II, 3 with Stage III and 2 with Stage IV. The staging accuracy for endometrial carcinoma was 81% (39/48) using FLASH-3D dynamic contrast-enhanced sequences. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for the determination of deep myometrial invasion were 84%, 90% and 88%, respectively. There was no significant difference compared with the results of post-operative pathology (p > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FLASH-3D dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging may be valuable for the early diagnosis and pre-operative staging of endometrial carcinoma. Its high accuracy for assessing deep myometrial invasion makes FLASH-3D imaging an important tool for selecting the optimal therapeutic protocol and for prognosis estimation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FLASH-3D can significantly improve the accurate assessment of the depth of tumour invasion into the myometrium and may thus help to guide clinical surgical choices and post-operative evaluation. FLASH-3D is thus a promising technique for the routine examination of female pelvic tumours.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.|2 Department of Radiology, Shenzhen Longhua New District Central Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Lixin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Xiaohu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Xixiong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Xiaolei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Yuli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Yongqiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003287:Contrast Media; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media