MRI Texture Analysis of Inguinal Lymph Node Metastasis in Vulvar Cancer - Associations With Histopathology

Texture analysis is a quantitative imaging technique that provides novel biomarkers beyond conventional image reading. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between texture parameters and histopathological features of lymph nodes in patients with vulvar cancer.

Overall, nine female patients (mean age 70.1±13.4 years, range=39-87 years) were included in the analysis. All patients had squamous cell carcinomas and underwent upfront surgery with inguinal lymph node resection. Immunohistochemical assessment was performed using several markers of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. The presurgical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was analyzed with the MaZda package.

In discrimination analysis, several parameters derived from T1-weighted images showed statistically significant differences between non-metastatic and metastatic lymph nodes. The highest statistical significance was reached by the texture feature "S(0,3)InvDfMom" (p=0.016). In correlation analysis, significant associations were found between MRI texture parameters derived from both T1-weighted and T2-weighted images and the investigated histopathological features. Notably, S(0,3)InvDfMom derived from T1-weighted images highly correlated with the Vimentin-score (r=0.908, p=0.001).

Several associations between MRI texture analysis and immunohistochemical parameters were identified in metastasized lymph nodes of cases with vulvar cancer.