Assessing the histopathological features of rectal adenocarcinoma with chemical shift-encoded sequence (CSE)-MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)

Background: It is of clinical importance to assess the histopathological features of rectal cancer. The adipose tissue microenvironment is closely associated with tumor formation and progression. The chemical shift-encoded magnetic resonance imaging (CSE-MRI) sequence can noninvasively quantify adipose tissue. In this study, we aimed to investigate the feasibility of using CSE-MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) to predict the histopathological features of rectal adenocarcinoma. Methods: In this retrospective study, 84 patients with rectal adenocarcinoma and 30 healthy controls were consecutively enrolled at the Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. CSE-MRI and DWI sequences were performed. The intratumoral proton density fat fraction (PDFF) and R2* of rectal tumors and normal rectal walls were measured. The histopathological features, including pathological T/N stage, tumor grade, mesorectum fascia (MRF) involvement, and extramural venous invasion (EMVI) status were analyzed. The Mann-Whitney test, Spearman correlation, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used for statistical analyses. Results: Patients with rectal adenocarcinoma demonstrated significantly lower PDFF and R2* values than did the control participants (5.35%+/- 1.70% vs. 11.55%+/- 3.41%, P<0.001; 35.60 s-1 +/- 7.30 s(-1) vs. 40.15 s(-1)+/- 5.72 s(-1), P=0.003). PDFF and R2* were significantly different in the discrimination of T/N stage, tumor grade, and MRF/EMVI status (P=0.000-0.005). A significant difference was only noted in the differentiation of the T stage for the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) (1.09 +/- 0.26x10(-3) mm(2)/s vs. 1.00 +/- 0.11x10(-3) mm(2)/ s; P=0.001). PDFF and R2* exhibited positive correlations with all the histopathological features (r=0.3060.734; P=0.000-0.005), while ADC was negatively correlated with the T stage (r=-0.380; P<0.001). PDFF demonstrated diagnostic ability, with a sensitivity of 95.00% and a specificity of 87.50%, while R2* had a sensitivity of 95.00% and a specificity of 79.20% in differentiating T stage; both demonstrated a better diagnostic performance than did ADC. Conclusions: Quantitative CSE-MRI imaging might serve as a noninvasive biomarker for assessing the histopathological features of rectal adenocarcinoma.