Usefulness of computed tomography findings for predicting soft tissue sarcoma grades

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Radiology
• Oncology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are diverse tumors originating from mesenchymal cells.
• Accurate staging of STSs is crucial for treatment planning and predicting outcomes.
• Histological grade significantly impacts STS recurrence and metastasis, but pre-operative grading via imaging remains challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if computed tomography (CT) findings can differentiate histological grades of soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) in dogs.
• To identify specific CT imaging features associated with different STS grades (1, 2, and 3).

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of CT scans from 30 dogs with histopathologically confirmed STSs (12 Grade 1, 10 Grade 2, 8 Grade 3).
• Evaluation of various CT features: tumor delineation, vascularity, enhancement patterns, calcification, cystic lesions, fat stranding, lymphadenopathy, and lung metastasis.
• Quantitative assessment of tumor size and attenuation values (pre- and post-contrast).

Main Results:

• Significant differences in tumor size, dysmorphic intratumoral/peritumoral vessels, peritumoral fat stranding, and metastatic regional lymphadenopathy were observed among STS grades.
• Grade 3 STSs were larger and showed a higher prevalence of dysmorphic vessels compared to Grade 1.
• Grade 3 STSs exhibited a significantly higher rate of adjacent metastatic lymphadenopathy than Grade 2 STSs.

Conclusions:

• CT imaging features, including tumor size and vascularity, can aid in differentiating soft tissue sarcoma histological grades in dogs.
• Identifying these CT characteristics pre-histopathology may assist in planning surgical resection margins for STSs.
• Further research could refine CT-based grading for improved STS management in veterinary oncology.