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A preliminary application study of magnetic resonance elastography in the diagnosis of cervical cancer
LIU Qiang  SHI Yu  SUN Hongzan  ZHOU Minghui  WANG Zhiying  LUO Baihe  PAN Chen  LIU Kejin  QI Wenxu 

Cite this article as: LIU Q, SHI Y, SUN H Z, et al. A preliminary application study of magnetic resonance elastography in the diagnosis of cervical cancer[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2024, 15(8): 12-16, 38. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2024.08.002.


[Abstract] Objective To explore the clinical value of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) in cervical cancer.Materials and Methods In this prospective study, a total of 39 patients diagnosed with cervical cancer (cervical cancer group) were prospectively recruited, along with 39 healthy female volunteers (control group) matched for age and body mass index (BMI). The participants underwent routine cervical MRI and MRE examinations with a frequency of 60 Hz. The stiffness values of the cervix were measured in both groups, along with the volume and depth of infiltration of tumors in the cervical cancer group, were measured. Tumor staging was collected for patients in the cervical cancer group. A paired sample t-test was used to compare the elasticity values between the cervical cancer group and the healthy control group. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were conducted to assess the correlation between stiffness values, tumor volume, infiltration depth, and cervical cancer staging, as well as the diagnostic efficiency of staging cervical cancer.Results The average stiffness value of the cervical cancer group [(5.76±0.99)] kPa was significantly higher than the healthy control group [(2.94±0.25) kPa; P<0.001]. Stiffness values, tumor volume, and infiltration depth showed statistically significant differences between early (≤ⅡA stage) and advanced stage (≥ⅡB stage) cervical cancer and were positively correlated with cervical cancer staging (r=0.439, 0.384, 0.322; P<0.05). The diagnostic efficacy of stiffness values was superior to tumor volume and infiltration depth, with the area under the curve (AUC) of ROC for stiffness values (0.754) > tumor volume (0.722) > infiltration depth (0.687).Conclusions MRE technology can serve as a non-invasive adjunct diagnostic tool for the diagnosis and staging of cervical cancer, holding potential clinical application prospects in the research and formulation of treatment strategies for cervical cancer.
[Keywords] cervical cancer；magnetic resonance elastography；tumor stiffness；magnetic resonance imaging；staging

LIU Qiang1, 2   SHI Yu1   SUN Hongzan1   ZHOU Minghui1   WANG Zhiying1   LUO Baihe1   PAN Chen1   LIU Kejin1   QI Wenxu1*  

1 Department of Radiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110004, China

2 Department of Radiology, the Seventh Clinical College, China Medical University, Fushun 113012, China

Corresponding author: QI W X, E-mail: qiwx@sj-hospital.org

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2023-11-09
Accepted  2024-03-23
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2024.08.002
Cite this article as: LIU Q, SHI Y, SUN H Z, et al. A preliminary application study of magnetic resonance elastography in the diagnosis of cervical cancer[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2024, 15(8): 12-16, 38. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2024.08.002.

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