Applications of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

In the head and neck, squamous cell carcinoma is one of the most common tumour types. Currently, the primary imaging modalities for initial locoregional staging are computed tomography and—to a lesser extent—magnetic resonance imaging, whilst [¹⁸F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography has additional value in the detection of subcentimetric metastatic lymph nodes and of tumour recurrence after chemoradiotherapy (CRT). However, dependency on the morphological and size-related criteria of anatomical imaging and the limited spatial resolution and FDG avidity of inflammation in metabolic imaging may reduce diagnostic accuracy in the head and neck. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) is a noninvasive imaging technique that measures the differences in water mobility in different tissue microstructures. Water mobility is likely influenced by cell size, density, and cellular membrane integrity and is quantified by means of the apparent diffusion coefficient. As such, the technique is able to differentiate tumoural tissue from normal tissue, inflammatory tissue and necrosis. In this article, we examine the use of DWI in head and neck cancer, focussing on technique optimization and image interpretation. Afterwards, the value of DWI will be outlined for clinical questions regarding nodal staging, lesion characterization, differentiation of post-CRT tumour recurrence from necrosis and inflammation, and predictive imaging towards treatment outcome. The possible consequences of adding DWI towards therapeutic management are outlined.     

Superficial endometrial spread of squamous cell cervical carcinoma: a diagnostic challenge at magnetic resonance imaging

The magnetic resonance imaging findings in a case of superficial endometrial spread of squamous cervical carcinoma are presented. Early enhancement of a relatively small cervical mass was associated with a fluid-distended endometrial cavity. An irregular layer of early-enhancing tumor was seen lining the endometrial cavity. Histopathologic examination confirmed the presence of an invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix that superficially spread into the lower uterine segment and endometrial cavity, replacing most of the endometrial lining as a layer of tumor. The tumor also deeply invaded the myometrium in a permeative fashion throughout the bulk of the uterine body. Failure to appreciate the cervical abnormality might have resulted in an imaging diagnosis of endometrial carcinoma. We report this challenging case to broaden the described spectrum of magnetic resonance imaging findings in cervical carcinoma, because recognition of this unusual pattern of tumor spread may facilitate correct radiological interpretation.     

High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in children

Magnetic resonance image quality in infants and children has been improved by the use of spherical receiver coils and age-adjusted sequences allowing use of a high-resolution (256 X 256) image reconstruction matrix, provided adequate immobilisation is maintained. This increased resolution provides more satisfactory demonstration of the cortical mantle and details of sulci, as well as pathological processes such as periventricular oedema, infarction and tumours.     

High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the ankle: normal anatomy

An imaging-anatomic correlative study of ankle anatomy based upon six healthy adults and six fresh cadaveric specimens was performed to evaluate the diagnostic capabilities of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Optimal pulsing sequences and imaging planes for various structures of interest were established. MRI afforded exquisite depiction of anatomic detail, particularly the diagnostically important collateral ligaments. Limitations in the ability to delineate the joint capsule and articular cartilage were documented, with the former detectable only on T2 weighted images in the presence of synovial fluid.     

High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the wrist: normal anatomy

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provided adequate depiction of carpal soft tissue structures in normal volunteers, as well as accurate anatomic correlation with cadaveric specimens. Using a high field strength system and surface coil techniques, the intricate anatomy of the wrist was best defined on long TR short TE images. However, from a practical view, T1 weighted images (TR 600 ms, TE 25 ms) were most useful because of short imaging times, satisfactory image quality, and the absence of motion artifacts. The coronal plane provided the clearest definition of important structures. Potential diagnostic limitations exist due to the inability of MRI ot clearly delineate articular cartilage, joint capsules, and small interosseous ligmaents. The presence of intra-articular fluid in both living subjects and cadaveric specimens, however, allowed for fine depiction of these structures on T2 weighted images.     

Clinical and in vitro magnetic resonance imaging of prostatic carcinoma

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the prostate was accomplished in 10 patients who subsequently had surgical exploration for histologic confirmation and tumor staging. Eight patients were found to have carcinoma of the prostate. Two patients had malignancies of the urinary bladder and were treated with radical resection of the bladder and prostate. The prostatic glands in the latter two patients were free of tumor. One gland was entirely normal; the other had extensive acute and chronic prostatitis. Two resected prostates with carcinoma and one normal prostate were available for in vitro MRI in a clinical magnetic resonance unit. The MRI finding of prostatic carcinoma was heterogeneous signal patterns, seen best on T2-weighted studies. A similar pattern was identified in the gland with acute and chronic prostatitis. There was a homogeneous MRI signal pattern of the normal prostate gland examined in vitro. In two instances, the MRI studies were accurate for the identification of tumor spread to the seminal vesicles, not diagnosed at the time of surgical resection. Microscopic metastatic disease of the lymph nodes in four patients was not identified by MRI.     

High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the knee joint: normal anatomy

Excellent morphologic detail was depicted in thin-section, high-resolution magnetic resonance (MR) images obtained with the use of a solenoid surface coil specifically designed for the knee joint. The multiplanar anatomy of the knee was determined by correlating MR images of six fresh cadavers and 10 normal adult knees with corresponding photographs of cryoplaned specimens and by a cross-referencing multiplanar imaging technique.     

High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the knee joint: pathologic correlations

Highly detailed pathologic morphology of 25 knees with suspected structural abnormalities was depicted in thin-section, high-resolution magnetic resonance images (MRI) produced with the aid of a specially designed solenoid surface coil. Scans were obtained on a 0.3-T permanent magnet system with 4-mm-thick slices and 0.75-mm pixel size. The images were correlated with clinical, arthrographic and/or bone scan, and surgical findings. In 10 of 11 cases of clinically suspected meniscal tears, the MRI findings corresponded with those of arthroscopy. In the three cases of clinically suspected injury to the anterior cruciate ligament which underwent surgery, the MRI findings of tears in two cases and a normal ligament in one case were confirmed. MRI was also useful in the evaluation of possible injury to the patellar tendon, in the detection of intraarticular loose bodies, and in the diagnosis of osteonecrosis.     

The oral cavity and tongue: magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetic resonance images of the oral cavity were obtained in the sagittal, coronal, and axial planes on normal volunteers. Although judgment regarding the current capabilities of magnetic resonance in imaging of the oral cavity remains guarded, expectations are that it could eventually surpass other diagnostic modalities in providing useful information about the oral cavity and tongue.     

Calibrated magnetic resonance hydrometry: an in vitro study

PURPOSE: To demonstrate a quantitative approach to measuring fluid volumes with standard single shot RARE sequences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In phantom experiments, magnetic resonance hydrometry (MRH), in combination with various calibration phantoms (5 mL up to 500 mL) as internal standards, was used to quantify fluid volumes. In total, 16 volume phantoms were investigated with six different calibration phantoms. In addition, noise correction was implemented to correct the quantification results and to avoid the influence of random noise in the image. RESULTS: All MR measurements show significant correlations of up to r = 0.99 (P <.05) with the real applied volume in the investigated phantoms. However, measurements of large volumes were more precise with large calibration phantoms. Noise reduction did not change the correlation between measured and real applied volumes, but did reduce the error of the measured volumes. Calibrated magnetic resonance hydrometry (cMRH) is able to quantify volumes of fluid fast and noninvasively. The volumes of the used calibration phantoms have to be at least in the order of magnitude of the volumes that are to be measured. CONCLUSION: In vitro, cMRH using a single-shot rapid acquisition with refocused echoes (ssRARE) sequence and calibration phantoms is a fast and accurate method of quantifying steady amounts of fluid.     

Predictive value of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging during chemoradiotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Objective  

To evaluate diffusion-weighted (DWI) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for treatment prediction during chemoradiotherapy (CRT) of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNC).     

结直肠癌的MRI初步研究

目的 探讨MRI对结直肠癌检查的可行性及其价值。方法 对38例经临床拟诊为结直肠癌患者行MR检查,检查前经直肠灌水300—1000ml。分别行轴面平扫,轴面、矢状面和冠状面3个平面增强扫描及水成像。结果 38例中经手术病理证实的结直肠癌31例,5例表现为腔内局限性软组织肿块,26例表现为肠壁不规则增厚,肠腔环形狭窄环绕肠腔1周或部分,平扫T1WI上呈等信号,T2WI上30例呈略高信号,1例呈明显高信号;钆喷替酸葡甲胺(Gd—DTPA)增强扫描病灶均明显强化。5例平扫SE序列T1WI上病灶周围脂肪间隙内见斑片状低信号。增强后病变段肠壁外缘光滑12例,不光滑或有结节影向外突出19例。结直肠水成像满意的24例中显示为病变部位肠腔内不规则充盈缺损14例,10例病变远侧端呈“袖口征”及“截断征”,近侧端未显示。MRI可以正确识别31例经病理证实的结直肠癌中的30例和7例非结直肠癌中的4例,诊断的敏感度、特异度和准确度分别为96．8％、57．1％和89．5%。MRI对结直肠癌T分期的准确度为83．9％(26／31),其中对T1～2期为75．0％(9／12)、对13期为88．2％(15／17)、对T4期为100％(2／2)。结论 MRI可以从整体上显示结直肠癌的纵向和横向侵犯,可以较准确地判断肿瘤在肠壁的浸润深度,水成像最大信号强度投影(MIP)重建可部分替代钡灌肠检查,为制定临床治疗方案提供有益的指导。     

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

ObjectiveTo evaluate whether diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a reliable technique to quantify microstructural differences between head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and tumour-free soft tissue.Materials and methodsDWI was obtained from 20 patients with histologically proven, untreated head and neck SCC. DWI was acquired using a diffusion-weighted, navigated echo-planar imaging sequence with a maximum b-value of 800 s/mm². For an objective assessment of image quality, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was calculated. Microstructural differences between vital tumour tissue and tumour-free soft tissue were quantified by calculating the apparent-diffusion-coefficients (ADC) on a pixel by pixel method.ResultsEcho-planar DWI provided good image quality in all patients (mean SNR 18.4). The mean ADC of SCC, (0.64 ± 0.28 × 10⁻³ mm²/s), was significantly (P < 0.0001) lower than that of the tumour-free soft tissue, (2.51 ± 0.82 × 10⁻³ mm²/s).ConclusionDWI is a reliable diagnostic tool to quantify the microstructural differences between vital tumour tissue and tumour-free soft tissue in patients with head and neck SCC.     

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

Objective

To evaluate whether diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a reliable technique to quantify microstructural differences between head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and tumour-free soft tissue.

Materials and methods

DWI was obtained from 20 patients with histologically proven, untreated head and neck SCC. DWI was acquired using a diffusion-weighted, navigated echo-planar imaging sequence with a maximum b-value of 800 s/mm². For an objective assessment of image quality, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was calculated. Microstructural differences between vital tumour tissue and tumour-free soft tissue were quantified by calculating the apparent-diffusion-coefficients (ADC) on a pixel by pixel method.

Results

Echo-planar DWI provided good image quality in all patients (mean SNR 18.4). The mean ADC of SCC, (0.64 ± 0.28 × 10⁻³ mm²/s), was significantly (P < 0.0001) lower than that of the tumour-free soft tissue, (2.51 ± 0.82 × 10⁻³ mm²/s).

Conclusion

DWI is a reliable diagnostic tool to quantify the microstructural differences between vital tumour tissue and tumour-free soft tissue in patients with head and neck SCC.     

Magnetic resonance imaging appearance of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the breast

Primary squamous cell carcinoma is a rare form of carcinoma of the breast. This article reports on two such lesions with their appearance in magnetic resonance imaging and reviews the scant English literature of the past 10 years. Most of these tumors are circumscribed and have areas of necrosis. The prognosis in patients with this disease is the same as that of adenocarcinoma of the same size and stage.     

High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of arthritic pathology in the rat knee

High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used to visualise the changes that occur in both soft tissue and bone during antigen-induced, monoarticular arthritis (AIMA) of the rat knee. Extensive optimisation studies were performed in order to minimise the time of the experiments and to maximise both the signal-to-noise ratio and the contrast in the MR images. The study was cross-sectional rather than longitudinal and at each of the 13 time points studied during the progression of the disease, corresponding X-radiographs and histological sections were obtained. Interpretation of the spin echo MR images was aided by the use of chemical shift-selective imaging, magnetisation transfer contrast and relaxation time experiments, as well as by correlation with the histology and X-radiography data. The MR images clearly show invasion of the synovium by an inflammatory pannus which spreads over the articular cartilage and invades the bone, leading to erosion and later remodelling. Two distinct types of bony erosion were observed: focal erosions, especially at the margins of the joint, and subchondral erosions. It is concluded that MRI provides a sensitive, non-invasive method for investigating both early-stage inflammatory changes and late-stage bony changes in the knee joints of the arthritic rat.     

High-resolution three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging of mouse lung in situ

OBJECTIVES: This study establishes a method for high-resolution isotropic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of mouse lungs using tracheal liquid-instillation to remove MR susceptibility artifacts. METHODS: C57BL/6J mice were instilled sequentially with perfluorocarbon and phosphate-buffered saline to an airway pressure of 10, 20, or 30 cm H2O. Imaging was performed in a 7T MR scanner using a 2.5-cm Quadrature volume coil and a 3-dimensional (3D) FLASH imaging sequence. RESULTS: Liquid-instillation removed magnetic susceptibility artifacts and allowed lung structure to be viewed at an isotropic resolution of 78-90 microm. Instilled liquid and modeled lung volumes were well correlated (R = 0.92; P < 0.05) and differed by a constant tissue volume (220 +/- 92 microL). 3D image renderings allowed differences in structural dimensions (volumes and areas) to be accurately measured at each inflation pressure. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate the efficacy of pulmonary liquid instillation for in situ high-resolution MR imaging of mouse lungs for accurate measurement of pulmonary airway, parenchymal, and vascular structures.     

High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the interphalangeal joints of the hand

High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the interphalangeal joints of the fingers is being employed to study arthritis. To facilitate this research, a clear understanding of the structures visualisable by MRI is necessary. A gradient echo (GE) sequence was developed that produced good contrast between cartilage and other joint structures. These detailed images, with an in-plane resolution of 200 × 100 μm, enable resolution of three cartilage zones which can be interpreted as a superficial layer at the cartilage/cartilage interface, an intermediate layer and calcified cartilage in contact with bone; these correlate well with known anatomy. Further analysis of the images indicates that although a chemical shift artifact causes changes in the images at the field strength used (0.5 T), it does not cause enough distortion to necessitate suppression of the effect. Furthermore, the only detectable susceptibility artifact at these low field strengths was a loss of signal in bone trabeculae at the bone/cartilage interface. There is clearly potential in the study of the articular structures, in particular cartilage, in detail, using high-resolution MRI.