Relationship between apparent diffusion coefficient values and clinicopathologic features in rectal cancer: a...

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Oncology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Rectal cancer prognosis depends on clinicopathological features.
• Accurate preoperative assessment is vital for treatment planning.
• Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a potential noninvasive imaging biomarker.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the relationship between ADC values and clinicopathological features of rectal cancer.
• To evaluate ADC as a noninvasive marker for preoperative tumor assessment.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 97 rectal adenocarcinoma patients.
• MRI including DWI was performed before surgical resection.
• Calculated mean, minimum, and maximum ADC values.
• Statistically analyzed correlations between ADC values and features like tumor stage, grade, and invasion.

Main Results:

• Lower ADC values (mean, min, max) were associated with extramural vascular invasion (EMVI) and poor circumferential resection margin (CRM).
• Higher ADC values were observed in earlier T stages (T1-2) and better histologic grades.
• Lower ADC values correlated significantly with lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and lymph node metastasis.

Conclusions:

• ADC values are negatively associated with adverse clinicopathological features in rectal cancer.
• ADC measurements show potential as noninvasive biomarkers for preoperative rectal cancer assessment.