MRI-Derived Biomarkers and Radiomic Signatures for Early, Dose-Dependent Evaluation of Prostate Cancer Radiotherapy:...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Radiology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) kinetics are traditionally used to assess radiotherapy outcomes in prostate cancer.
• Limitations exist in solely relying on PSA kinetics for accurate assessment of radiotherapy-induced tissue changes.
• Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and radiomic analyses offer potential for objective, non-invasive assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the role of quantitative MRI and radiomic analyses in assessing radiotherapy-induced tissue changes in prostate cancer.
• To correlate imaging biomarkers with radiation dose and evaluate their longitudinal changes.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study involving 22 prostate cancer patients undergoing multiparametric MRI (pre-treatment, mid-treatment, post-treatment).
• Quantitative analysis included prostate volume, T2, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and T2* mapping.
• Radiomic features were extracted from T2-weighted and diffusion-weighted images; longitudinal changes and dose correlations were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Prostate volume showed temporary increase mid-treatment (edema) and decrease post-treatment (p < 0.001, p = 0.034).
• T2 relaxation times decreased post-therapy (p = 0.023), influenced by androgen deprivation therapy (p = 0.028).
• ADC and T2* remained stable; radiomic features showed subtle time- and dose-dependent variations; radiation dose correlated with volume and T2.

Conclusions:

• Quantitative MRI biomarkers and radiomic analysis provide objective, non-invasive measures of early radiotherapy-induced changes in prostate cancer.
• These imaging metrics capture early treatment-related tissue alterations.
• Further validation is needed to establish the relationship between these imaging biomarkers and biochemical markers for treatment evaluation.