Volume computed tomography perfusion as a predictive marker for treatment response to concurrent chemoradiotherapy in cervical cancer: a prospective study

Abstract

Background

Computed tomography perfusion (CTP) can provide information on blood perfusion as a reliable marker of tumor response to therapy.

Purpose

To assess the role of volume CTP (vCTP) parameters in predicting treatment response to concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for cervical cancer.

Material and Methods

Thirty-three patients with cervical cancer underwent vCTP. Three CTP parameters of cervical cancer—including arterial flow (AF), blood volume (BV), and permeability surface (PS)—were measured in two different ways: the region of interest incorporating the “local hot” with the highest enhancement and “cold spot” with the lowest enhancement; and “whole-tumor” measurements. The patients were divided into non-residual and residual tumor groups according to the short-term response to treatment. The clinical and perfusion parameters were compared between the two groups.

Results

There was no significant difference in age, body mass index, FIGO stage, pathological grade, or pretreatment tumor size between the two groups (P > 0.05). The non-residual tumor group had higher pretreatment AF in high-perfusion and low-perfusion subregions than the residual tumor group (P <0.05), but the AF in whole-tumor regions was not different between the two groups (P > 0.05). There were no differences in BV and PS between the two groups (P > 0.05). The diagnostic potency of AF in the low-perfusion subregion was higher than that in the high-perfusion subregion.

Conclusion

vCTP parameters are valuable for the prediction of short-term effects. The AF in the low-perfusion subregion was a more effective index for predicting treatment response to CCRT of cervical cancer.