A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Feasibility of T2 relaxation time in predicting the technical outcome of MR-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound treatment of uterine fibroids




AuthorsSainio Teija, Saunavaara Jani, Komar Gaber, Otonkoski Saara, Joronen Kirsi, Viitala Antti, Perheentupa Antti, Blanco Sequeiros Roberto

Publication year2021

JournalInternational Journal of Hyperthermia

Journal name in sourceInternational journal of hyperthermia : the official journal of European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology, North American Hyperthermia Group

Journal acronymInt J Hyperthermia

Volume38

Issue1

First page 1384

Last page1393

ISSN0265-6736

eISSN1464-5157

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1080/02656736.2021.1976850(external)

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/67432592(external)


Abstract

Purpose
The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of T2 relaxation time in predicting the immediate technical outcome i.e., nonperfused volume ratio (NPVr) of magnetic resonance-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (MRgHIFU) treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids and to compare it with existing T2-weighted imaging methods (Funaki classification and scaled signal intensity, SSI).

Materials and methods
30 patients with 32 uterine fibroids underwent an MRI study including a quantitative T2 relaxation time measurement prior to MRgHIFU treatment. T2 relaxation times were measured with a multi-echo fast imaging-based technique with 16 echoes. The correlation between pretreatment values of the uterine fibroids and treatment outcomes, that is nonperfused volume ratios (NPVr), was assessed with nonparametric statistical measures. T2 relaxation time-based method was compared to existing T2-weighted imaging-based methods using receiver-operating-characteristics (ROC) curve analysis and Chi-square test.

Results
Nonparametric measures of association revealed a statistically significant negative correlation between T2 relaxation time values and NPVr. The T2 relaxation time classification (T2 I, T2 II, and T2 III) resulted in the whole model p-value of 0.0019, whereas the Funaki classification resulted in a p-value of 0.56. The T2 relaxation time classification (T2 I and T2 II) achieved a whole model of a p-value of 0.0024, whereas the SSI classification had a p-value of 0.0749.

Conclusions
A longer T2 relaxation time of the fibroid prior to treatment correlated with a lower NPVr. Based on our results, the T2 relaxation time classifications seem to outperform the Funaki classification and the SSI method.


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Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 21:25