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Evaluation of malignant effusions using MR-based T1 mapping.
D Kuetting1, J Luetkens2, A Faron2
1Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Bonn, Venusberg Campus 1, 53105, Bonn, Germany. daniel.kuetting@ukbonn.de.
Scientific Reports
|March 30, 2021
Summary
Rapid T1-mapping effectively differentiates malignant from non-malignant effusions ex vivo. This technique shows shorter T1 relaxation times in malignant fluids, aiding diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging
- Biophysics
Background:
- Distinguishing malignant from non-malignant effusions is crucial for patient management.
- Current diagnostic methods can be invasive and time-consuming.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the diagnostic performance of rapid T1-mapping for differentiating malignant and non-malignant effusions ex vivo.
- To compare two T1-mapping techniques: fast modified Look-Locker inversion-recovery (MOLLI) and a combined turbo spin-echo and inversion-recovery sequence (TMIX).
Main Methods:
- T1-mapping was performed on 13 albumin solutions and 48 patient effusion samples (29 malignant, 19 non-malignant).
- Samples were histologically classified.
- Correlation with albumin content and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were conducted.
Main Results:
- Both MOLLI and TMIX T1-mapping correlated strongly with albumin content in phantom studies.
- MOLLI T1 relaxation times were significantly shorter in malignancy-positive effusions (2237 ± 137 ms) compared to malignancy-negative (2423 ± 357 ms) and non-malignant (2651 ± 139 ms) effusions.
- ROC analysis yielded an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.89 for differentiating malignant from non-malignant effusions.
Conclusions:
- Rapid T1-mapping, particularly MOLLI, demonstrates significant potential for non-invasively differentiating malignant from non-malignant effusions in an ex vivo setting.
- This technique offers a promising adjunctive tool for effusion characterization.
