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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Imaging and Image-directed Interventions
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1380725
This article is part of the Research Topic Advancing Cancer Imaging Technologies: Bridging the Gap from Research to Clinical Practice View all articles

Comparing qSMI and qCEUS for assessing vascularization in uterine cervical cancer: operable versus non-operable group

Provisionally accepted
Yi Zhu Yi Zhu 1*Yanjie Li Yanjie Li 1Yixin Tang Yixin Tang Yixin Tang Yixin Tang 2Jie Zhang Jie Zhang 1Shijun Jia Shijun Jia 1Zhuolin Jiang Zhuolin Jiang 1Xinyi Luo Xinyi Luo 1Mitsuya Ishikawa Mitsuya Ishikawa 3Tomoyasu Kato Tomoyasu Kato 3
  • 1 Sichuan Cancer Hospital, Chengdu, China
  • 2 Suining Central Hospital, Suining, China
  • 3 National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness and reliability of quantified superb microvascular imaging (qSMI) and quantified contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (qCEUS) in assessing vascularization in both operable and non-operable uterine cervical cancer.A case-control study included 64 patients with pathology-proven and untreated cervical cancer, who underwent transvaginal ultrasonography combined with qSMI and qCEUS between January 2022 and June 2023. SMI results were quantified as the vascular index (VI), which were compared to 12 quantitative parameters of CEUS calculated with timeintensity curves (TIC).Results: According to FIGO staging and different treatment regimens, 64 patients with cervical cancer were divided into operable group (IA ~ IIA, n = 19) and non-operable group (IIB ~ IV, n = 45). In comparison to the operable group, the non-operable group showed significantly higher values in VI, peak intensity (PI), area under the curve (AUC), wash-in area (iAUC), wash-out area (oAUC), wash-in rate (WiR), mean intensity (Mean Int), and standard deviation (STD) (all P < 0.05). VI demonstrated strong correlations with CEUS parameters, notably PI (r = 0.854, P < 0.001) and AUC (r = 0.635, P < 0.001). Furthermore, VI showed a better predictive performance for treatment-group assignment than qCEUS parameters, with an 80.7% accuracy, 64.4% sensitivity and 89.5% specificity.Both qSMI and qCEUS exhibit significant and comparable utility in detecting microvascular hyperplasia and predicting treatment-group assignments in cervical cancer. Furthermore, qSMI may offer added convenience in implementation.

    Keywords: cervical cancer, Superb Microvascular Imaging, Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography, Vascular index, time-intensity curves

    Received: 13 Mar 2024; Accepted: 26 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhu, Li, Yixin Tang, Zhang, Jia, Jiang, Luo, Ishikawa and Kato. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yi Zhu, Sichuan Cancer Hospital, Chengdu, China

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