Correlation between Tissue Cellularity and Metabolism Represented by Diffusion-Weighted Imaging (DWI) and 18F-FDG
Omar Freihat1, Tóth Zoltán2,3, Tamas Pinter4
1Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pécs, 7621 Pécs, Hungary.
Background:
This study aimed to assess the association of 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission-tomography (18F-FDG/PET) and DWI imaging parameters from a primary tumor and their correlations with clinicopathological factors.
Methods:
We retrospectively analyzed primary tumors in 71 patients with proven HNC. Primary tumor radiological parameters: DWI and FDG, as well as pathological characteristics were analyzed. Spearman correlation coefficient was used to assess the correlation between DWI and FDG parameters, ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis, independent sample t-test, Mann-Whitney test, and multiple regression were performed on the clinicopathological features that may affect the 18F- FDG and apparent-diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the tumor.
Results:
No significant correlations were observed between DWI and any of the 18F-FDG parameters (p > 0.05). SUVmax correlated with N-stages (p = 0.023), TLG and MTV correlated with T-stages (p = 0.006 and p = 0.001), and ADC correlated with tumor grades (p = 0.05). SUVmax was able to differentiate between N+ and N- groups (p = 0.004).
Conclusions:
Our results revealed a non-significant correlation between the FDG-PET and ADC-MR parameters. FDG-PET-based glucose metabolic and DWI-MR-derived cellularity data may represent different biological aspects of HNC.
Related Concept Videos
01:17Assessment of Diffusion and Perfusion
The Role of Diffusion in Respiration
Diffusion is the process by which molecules move from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. In the respiratory system, this...
01:25Imaging Studies II: Positron Emission Tomography and Scintigraphy
Fundamental Principles of PET