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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Imaging and Image-directed Interventions
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1397266
This article is part of the Research Topic Quantitative Imaging: Revolutionizing Cancer Management with biological sensitivity, specificity, and AI integration View all 6 articles

Comparative Evaluation of Imaging methods for Prognosis Assessment in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Focus on Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Computed Tomography and Esophagography

Provisionally accepted
Yang Li Yang Li 1Xiaohua Su Xiaohua Su 2Andu Zhang Andu Zhang 3*Yuguang Shang4 Yuguang Shang4 3Hui Liu Hui Liu 1Gaofeng Shi Gaofeng Shi 1
  • 1 Department of Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
  • 2 Department of Oncology, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
  • 3 Department of Radiotherapy, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China

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

    Objective: To identify the most sensitive imaging examination method to evaluate the prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Materials and methods: Thirty patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) participated in the study and underwent chemoradiotherapy (CRT). They were divided into two groups based on their survival status: the survival group and non-survival group. The diagnostic tests were utilized to determine the most effective imaging examination method for assessing the prognosis. Results: 1. There were no significant differences in tumor length shown on esophagography or computed tomography (CT) or the maximal esophageal wall thickness shown on CT at the specified time points between the two groups. 2. The tumor length on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in the survival group was significantly lower than in the non-survival group at the end of the sixth week of treatment (P=0.001). The area under the ROC curve was 0.840 (P=0.002), and the diagnostic efficiency was moderately accurate. 3. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the survival group were significantly higher than those in the non-survival group at the end of the fourth week and sixth week of treatment (both P<0.001). Areas under the curve were 0.866 and 0.970, with P values of 0.001 and <0.001 and good diagnostic accuracy. Cox regression analyses indicated the ADC at the end of the sixth week of treatment was a independent risk factor. Conclusions: Compared with esophagography and CT, DW-MRI has certain advantages in predicting the prognosis of ESCC.

    Keywords: esophageal cancer, Radiotherapy, Diffusion-weighted imaging, Esophagography, Computer tomography

    Received: 07 Mar 2024; Accepted: 17 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Li, Su, Zhang, Shang4, Liu and Shi. 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: Andu Zhang, Department of Radiotherapy, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.