Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 15, 2026
Multi-photon Imaging of Tumor Cell Invasion in an Orthotopic Mouse Model of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Published on: July 25, 2011
Advanced diffusion-relaxation imaging for tumoral differentiation and metastasis prediction in oral tongue cancer
Siyu Li1, Wentao Hu2, Gongxin Yang1
1Department of Radiology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Background:
To determine the feasibility of diffusion-relaxation correlation spectroscopic imaging in identifying tumoral differentiation profile and predicting cervical lymph node metastasis (CLNM) in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC).
Materials And Methods:
This prospective study enrolled fifty-seven OTSCC patients who underwent preoperative head and neck magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Scans with multi b-values (0-1500 s/mm2) and multi-echo times (7-150 ms) were performed to generate normalized diffusion-T2 spectra. Tumor maximal diameter and depth of invasion were measured. Tumors were segmented into five compartments (VA to VE) with metrics compared across normal controls, CLNM-, and CLNM+ groups. Pathological parameters such as tumor-stroma ratio (TSR), perineural invasion, Ki-67, tumor p53 protein, and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p16 were evaluated. Correlations between MRI metrics and pathological parameters were assessed. Predictors of CLNM+ were identified using logistic regression analysis, and the predictive performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic analysis.
Results:
Thirty-four patients were assigned to the CLNM+ group and 23 to the CLNM- group. CLNM+ patients showed larger tumor maximal diameters, deeper invasion, increased VB and VD, and decreased VA compared to CLNM- patients. VB exhibited strong positive correlations with perineural invasion and depth of invasion, while VD correlated positively with TSR. Moreover, VB and depth of invasion were independent prognostic factors for CLNM+, and their combined model achieved the highest predictive performance.
Conclusion:
Diffusion-relaxation correlation spectroscopic imaging marked a significant advancement in the diagnostic and prognostic assessment of OTSCC, offering detailed tumor characterization and improving CLNM+ prediction, with great potential for accurate and non-invasive evaluation.
Relevance Statement:
Diffusion-relaxation correlation spectroscopic imaging metrics (VB and VD) characterized tumor heterogeneity and correlated with pathological biomarkers, making it a promising non-invasive tool for enhancing preoperative decisions and reducing unnecessary lymph node dissections in clinical workflows.
Key Points:
Tumoral components and heterogeneity of oral tongue cancer were investigated on MRI. Advanced diffusion-relaxation imaging delineated the tumoral differential profile and predicted metastasis. We provided a non-invasive tool for preoperative decision-making in clinical workflows.
