MRI-based texture analysis to differentiate the most common parotid tumours

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Oncology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Parotid tumors are common salivary gland neoplasms.
• Accurate differentiation between benign and malignant parotid tumors is crucial for appropriate management.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a key modality for evaluating parotid masses, but distinguishing tumor types can be challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features and signal characteristics of parotid masses.
• To investigate the added role of texture analysis (TA) in differentiating parotid tumors.
• To assess the diagnostic performance of MRI features and TA in distinguishing benign from malignant parotid tumors.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of MRI sequences from 95 patients with parotid tumors (pleomorphic adenoma, Warthin's tumor, mucoepidermoid carcinoma).
• Texture analysis (TA) was performed on fat-suppressed T2-weighted and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images.
• Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to evaluate diagnostic ability and the added value of TA.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in tumor border, infiltration, enhancement, perineural spread, and lymph nodes were observed between malignant and benign tumors.
• Texture analysis parameters (kurtosis on contrast-enhanced T1, skewness and kurtosis on T2) showed significant differences between tumor groups.
• A combination of high kurtosis on T2-weighted images and an ill-defined border demonstrated high specificity (98.8%) and positive predictive value (83.3%) for differentiating malignant tumors.

Conclusions:

• Texture analysis parameters, when added to conventional MRI findings, may improve the differentiation of benign from malignant parotid tumors.
• Specific MRI features and texture parameters hold promise for non-invasively characterizing parotid masses.
• Further research validating these findings in larger cohorts is warranted.