Influence of tumor and microenvironment characteristics on diffusion-weighted imaging in oropharyngeal carcinoma: A pilot study. (February 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Swartz, Justin E.; Driessen, Juliette P.; van Kempen, Pauline M.W.; de Bree, Remco; Janssen, Luuk M.; Pameijer, Frank A.; Terhaard, Chris H.J.; Philippens, Marielle E.P.; Willems, Stefan
• Is Part Of: Oral oncology. Volume 77(2018)
• Page Start: 9
• Page End: 15
• Publication Date: 2018-02
• Subjects: HNSCC head and neck squamous cell carcinomas -- OPSCC oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma -- DWI diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging -- TMA tissue microarray -- CI confidence interval -- ADC apparent diffusion coefficient; Oropharyngeal neoplasms -- Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging -- Tumor microenvironment; Mouth -- Cancer -- Periodicals; Mouth -- Tumors -- Periodicals; Mouth Diseases -- Periodicals; Mouth Neoplasms -- Periodicals; Bouche -- Cancer -- Périodiques; Bouche -- Tumeurs -- Périodiques; Tumeurs -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 616.9943105
• DOI: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2017.12.001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1368-8375

Abstract

Highlights: In OPSCC, high tumor proliferation rate correlates to lower ADCs in DW-MRI. In OPSCC high CD3-positive lymphocyte influx correlates to lower ADCs. A correlation between tumor hypoxia and whole tumor ADC could not be identified. Better knowledge of the biological and microanatomical background of ADC should lead to better understanding of the role of DWI in diagnostics and personalized medicine. Abstract: Objectives: Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) is a frequently performed MRI sequence in cancer patients. While previous studies have shown the clinical value of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for response prediction and response monitoring, less is known about the biological background of ADC. In the tumor microenvironment, hypoxia and increased proliferation of tumor cells contribute to resistance to (radio-)therapy, while high T-cell influx is related to better prognosis. We investigated the correlation between these three tissue characteristics and ADC in 20 oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma patients. Materials and methods: 20 patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) who underwent 1.5 T MRI, including DWI were included in this pilot study. Corresponding formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissues were immunohistochemically analyzed for protein expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1a (HIF-1a), Ki-67 and CD3. Expression of these markers was correlated with ADC. Results: ADC negatively correlated with Ki-67 expression (p = .024) in tumor cells. There was a significant negative correlation between ADC and CD3-positive cell count (p = .009). No correlation was observed between HIF-1a expression and ADC. Conclusion: This study suggests that ADC reflects characteristics of tumor cells as well as the surrounding microenvironment. Interestingly, high tumor proliferation (a negative prognostic factor) and high T-cell influx (a beneficial prognostic factor) are both associated with a lower ADC. Further studies should be performed to correlate ADC to these histological characteristics in relation to previously known factors that affect ADC, to gain further knowledge on the role of DW-MRI in diagnostics and personalized medicine.