title: Effectiveness of a Tailored Anterior Saturation Band in the Improvement of the Image Quality of Pelvic Magnetic Resonance for Assessing Rectal Cancer.
abstract: We sought to test the effectiveness of the application of a tailored anterior saturation band (ASB) to improve the image quality of pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for assessing rectal cancer.
  
  
  
  A total of 165 patients with MRI assessment of rectal cancer between 2013 and 2015 were included. The image quality scores (4-point scale: 1, nondiagnostic through 4, excellent) of MRI without and with tailored ASBs were compared. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy of pelvic MRIs with and without a tailored ASB for T-staging in 65 patients with direct surgery and 67 patients with chemoradiotherapy before surgery were evaluated.
  
  
  
  Two independent raters exhibited moderate-to-excellent interobserver agreements (κ = 0.529-0.879) in the grading of MRI image quality. Overall, the quality scores of sagittal and axial T2-weighted images with tailored ASBs were significantly improved compared with MRIs without ASBs (3.5 ± 0.3 vs. 2.7 ± 0.8 [mean ± SD]; P < .001, and 3.6 ± 0.3 vs. 2.8 ± 0.8; P < .001, respectively). The application of tailored ASBs in MRIs improved the averaged accuracies for staging of ≤ T2, T3, and T4 tumors from 87.7%, 78.5%, and 90.8% to 93.1%, 86.9%, and 97.7%, respectively. In post-chemoradiotherapy MRI follow-ups, the use of tailored ASBs also improved the average accuracies for staging of yT0, yT1-2, yT3, and yT4 tumors from 80.6%, 73.1%, 73.9%, and 91.0%, to 85.8%, 82.9%, 85.1%, and 94.0%, respectively.
  
  
  
  Application of a tailored ASB in pelvic MRI is effective in substantially reducing motion artifacts, significantly upgrading image quality, and improving accuracies of rectal tumor staging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Department of Biomedical Engineering, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chen-Chang
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Po-Chou
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Colorectal Surgery, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hong-Hwa
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chung-Cheng
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Li-Han
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shu-Hang
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics Consulting Center and Department of Public Health, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Min-Chi
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Electronic address: sfatko@adm.cgmh.org.tw.
authors.forename: Sheung-Fat
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Ko
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*
keywords: Anterior saturation technique; Artifacts; Image quality; Magnetic resonance imaging; Tumor staging