title: Correlation study between intravoxel incoherent motion MRI and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: Evaluation in primary tumors and metastatic nodes.
abstract: To correlate intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) imaging and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
  
  
  
  Forty untreated patients with HNSCC were included retrospectively in the study. Perfusion fraction f, diffusion coefficient D and perfusion-related diffusion coefficient D* were extracted by bi-exponential fitting of IVIM data. Semi-quantitative DCE-MRI parameters, including positive enhancement integral (PEI) and maximum slope of increase (MSI), were calculated. The relationships between all variables were assessed by Spearman's test for correlation.
  
  
  
  27 primary tumors (PTs) and 23 lymph nodes (LNs) were analyzed. The residual sum of squares (RSS), used to assess the fit quality, was significantly different between PTs and LNs, with the last showing lower values. In LNs, D* and the product D*×f were positively related to both nPEI and nMSI, while no significant correlation was found in PTs.
  
  
  
  Evident relationships between D* and D*×f and DCE-MRI perfusion measurements were found in LNs, while no significant association emerged in PTs. This presumably is due to the poorer agreement between the experimental data and curve fitting for PTs, as compared to LNs. Additional work is warranted to improve the reliability of the IVIM parameter estimations in primary HNSCCs.
authors.affiliation: Medical Physics Laboratory, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Via Elio Chianesi 53, 00144 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: simona.marzi@ifo.gov.it.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marzi
authors.affiliation: Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging Department, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Via Elio Chianesi 53, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Piludu
authors.affiliation: Medical Physics Laboratory, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Via Elio Chianesi 53, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Forina
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Via Elio Chianesi 53, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sanguineti
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Via Elio Chianesi 53, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Covello
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Via Elio Chianesi 53, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Spriano
authors.affiliation: Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging Department, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Via Elio Chianesi 53, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonello
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vidiri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000465:Algorithms; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003287:Contrast Media; D004058:Diffusion; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009038:Motion; D010477:Perfusion; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media
keywords: Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging; Dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging; Head and neck neoplasms; Intravoxel incoherent motion imaging; Perfusion imaging