Diffusion kurtosis imaging assessment of the response to radiotherapy in a VX2 bone tumor model: an animal study

Neoadjuvant radiotherapy plays a vital role in the treatment of malignant bone tumors, and non-invasive imaging methods are needed to evaluate the response to treatment.

To assess the value of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) for monitoring early response to radiotherapy in malignant bone tumors.

Treatment response was evaluated in a rabbit VX2 bone tumor model (n = 35) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), DKI, and histopathologic examinations. Subjects were divided into three groups: pre-treatment, post-treatment, and control groups. The post-treatment group was subclassified into good response and poor response groups according to the results of histopathologic examination. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and DKI parameters (mean diffusion coefficient [MD] and mean kurtosis [MK]) were recorded. The relationship between ADC, DKI parameters, and histopathologic changes after radiotherapy was determined using Pearson's correlation coefficient. The diagnostic performance of these parameters was assessed using receiver operating characteristic analysis.

MD in the good response group was higher after treatment than before treatment (P < 0.001) and higher than that in the poor response group (P = 0.009). MD was highly correlated with tumor cell density and apoptosis rate (r = -0.771, P < 0.001 and r = 0.625, P < 0.001, respectively). MD was superior to other parameters for determining the curative effect of radiotherapy, with a sensitivity of 75.0%, specificity of 100.0%, and area under the curve of 0.917 (P < 0.001).

The correlations between MD, tumor cell density, and apoptosis suggest that MD could be useful for assessing the early response to radiotherapy in rabbit VX2 malignant bone tumors.