MRI assessment of rectal cancer response to neoadjuvant therapy: a multireader study.

OBJECTIVES: A watch and wait strategy with the goal of organ preservation is an emerging treatment paradigm for rectal cancer following neoadjuvant treatment. However, the selection of appropriate patients remains a challenge. Most previous efforts to measure the accuracy of MRI in assessing rectal cancer response used a small number of radiologists and did not report variability among them. METHODS: Twelve radiologists from 8 institutions assessed baseline and restaging MRI scans of 39 patients. The participating radiologists were asked to assess MRI features and to categorize the overall response as complete or incomplete. The reference standard was pathological complete response or a sustained clinical response for > 2 years. RESULTS: We measured the accuracy and described the interobserver variability of interpretation of rectal cancer response between radiologists at different medical centers. Overall accuracy was 64%, with a sensitivity of 65% for detecting complete response and specificity of 63% for detecting residual tumor. Interpretation of the overall response was more accurate than the interpretation of any individual feature. Variability of interpretation was dependent on the patient and imaging feature investigated. In general, variability and accuracy were inversely correlated. CONCLUSIONS: MRI-based evaluation of response at restaging is insufficiently accurate and has substantial variability of interpretation. Although some patients' response to neoadjuvant treatment on MRI may be easily recognizable, as seen by high accuracy and low variability, that is not the case for most patients. KEY POINTS: • The overall accuracy of MRI-based response assessment is low and radiologists differed in their interpretation of key imaging features. • Some patients' scans were interpreted with high accuracy and low variability, suggesting that these patients' pattern of response is easier to interpret. • The most accurate assessments were those of the overall response, which took into consideration both T2W and DWI sequences and the assessment of both the primary tumor and the lymph nodes.

Comparing Radiologist Performance in Diagnosing Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer with Multiparametric versus Hybrid Multidimensional MRI.

Background Variability of acquisition and interpretation of prostate multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) persists despite implementation of the Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) version 2.1 due to the range of reader experience and subjectivity of lesion characterization. A quantitative method, hybrid multidimensional MRI (HM-MRI), may introduce objectivity. Purpose To compare performance, interobserver agreement, and interpretation time of radiologists using mpMRI versus HM-MRI to diagnose clinically significant prostate cancer. Materials and Methods In this retrospective analysis, men with prostatectomy or MRI-fused transrectal US biopsy-confirmed prostate cancer underwent mpMRI (triplanar T2-weighted, diffusion-weighted, and dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging) and HM-MRI (with multiple echo times and b value combinations) from August 2012 to February 2020. Four readers with 1-20 years of experience interpreted mpMRI and HM-MRI examinations independently, with a 4-week washout period between interpretations. PI-RADS score, lesion location, and interpretation time were recorded. mpMRI and HM-MRI interpretation time, interobserver agreement (Cronbach alpha), and performance of area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) analysis were compared for each radiologist with use of bootstrap analysis. Results Sixty-one men (mean age, 61 years ± 8 [SD]) were evaluated. Per-patient AUC was higher for HM-MRI for reader 4 compared with mpMRI (AUCs for readers 1-4: 0.61, 0.71, 0.59, and 0.64 vs 0.66, 0.60, 0.50, and 0.46; P = .57, .20, .32, and .04, respectively). Per-patient specificity was higher for HM-MRI for readers 2-4 compared with mpMRI (specificity for readers 1-4: 48%, 78%, 48%, and 46% vs 37%, 26%, 0%, and 7%; P = .34, P < .001, P < .001, and P < .001, respectively). Diagnostic performance improved for the reader least experienced with HM-MRI, reader 4 (AUC, 0.64 vs 0.46; P = .04). HM-MRI interobserver agreement (Cronbach alpha = 0.88 [95% CI: 0.82, 0.92]) was higher than that of mpMRI (Cronbach alpha = 0.26 [95% CI: 0.10, 0.52]; α > .60 indicates reliability; P = .03). HM-MRI mean interpretation time (73 seconds ± 43 [SD]) was shorter than that of mpMRI (254 seconds ± 133; P = .03). Conclusion Radiologists had similar or improved diagnostic performance, higher interobserver agreement, and lower interpretation time for clinically significant prostate cancer with hybrid multidimensional MRI than multiparametric MRI. © RSNA, 2022 Online supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Turkbey in this issue.

Lung Base Findings of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) on Abdominal CT in Patients With Predominant Gastrointestinal Symptoms.

OBJECTIVE. This series of patients presented to the emergency department (ED) with abdominal pain, without the respiratory symptoms typical of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and the abdominal radiologist was the first to suggest COVID-19 infection because of findings in the lung bases on CT of the abdomen. CONCLUSION. COVID-19 infection can present primarily with abdominal symptoms, and the abdominal radiologist must suggest the diagnosis when evaluating the lung bases for typical findings.

Reproducibility of mRECIST in assessing response to transarterial radioembolization therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma.

UNLABELLED: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the reproducibility of Modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) lesions undergoing transarterial radioembolization (TARE) therapy and to determine whether mRECIST reproducibility is affected by the enhancement pattern of HCC. One hundred and three HCC lesions from 103 patients treated with TARE were evaluated. The single longest diameter of viable tumor tissue was measured by two radiologists at baseline; response to therapy was evaluated according to mRECIST. The enhancement pattern of HCC lesions was correlated with their mRECIST response. The response rate between mRECIST and RECIST 1.1 was compared. Wilcoxon signed-rank test, paired t test, Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (ρc ), Bland-Altman plot, kappa statistics, and Fisher's exact test were used to assess intra- and interobserver reproducibilities and to compare response rates. There were better intra- than interobserver agreements in the measurement of single longest diameter of viable tumor tissue (bias = 0 cm intraobserver versus bias = 0.3 cm interobserver). For mRECIST, good intraobserver (ĸ = 0.70) and moderate interobserver (ĸ = 0.56) agreements were noted. The mRECIST response for HCC lesions with homogeneous enhancement at both baseline and follow-up imaging showed better intra- and interobserver agreements (ĸ = 0.77 and 0.60, respectively) than lesions with heterogeneous enhancement at both scans (ĸ = 0.54 and 0.40, respectively). In the early follow-up period mRECIST showed a significantly higher response rate than RECIST (40.8% versus 3.9%; P = 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: In HCC patients treated with TARE, mRECIST captures a significantly higher response rate compared with RECIST; it also demonstrates acceptable intra- and interobserver reproducibilities for HCC lesions treated with TARE, and mRECIST reproducibility may be lower for HCC lesions with heterogeneous distribution of the viable tumor tissue.

Evaluation of the need for routine esophagram after peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM).

BACKGROUND: Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is a novel surgical option for the treatment of achalasia. Most centers perform a routine esophagram on postoperative day (POD) #1 to rule esophageal perforation and leaks. In this study, we sought to determine the clinical utility of routine contrast studies post-POEM. METHODS: POEM was performed using an anterior submucosal tunnel and selective myotomy of the circular muscle layer. A routine contrast esophagram was obtained on POD #1. We conducted a retrospective review of the radiologists' interpretations of these studies and compared them to patient's clinical course. RESULTS: Seventy-eight patients were included. Among these, two complications occurred. One patient was non-compliant with postoperative nil per os orders and developed epigastric pain suspicious for a leak that was demonstrated on esophagram. Another patient had subcutaneous emphysema on POD #1 esophagram, a finding that was also present on physical examination, without esophageal leakage. Another esophagram in an asymptomatic patient was suspicious for submucosal tunnel hematoma which prompted a return to the operating room with negative results. Overall, 56 patients had abnormal studies. POD #1 esophagram demonstrated a sensitivity of 100 % and specificity of 45 % in identifying clinically significant complications. CONCLUSIONS: In this series, we found routine esophagram to have a high sensitivity but a very low specificity in detecting clinically significant complications. Routine esophagram after POEM may not be necessary.

CT and MR imaging for evaluation of cystic renal lesions and diseases.

Cystic renal lesions are commonly encountered in abdominal imaging. Although most cystic renal lesions are benign simple cysts, complex renal cysts, infectious cystic renal disease, and multifocal cystic renal disease are also common phenomena. The Bosniak classification system provides a useful means of categorizing cystic renal lesions but places less emphasis on their underlying pathophysiology. Cystic renal diseases can be categorized as focal, multifocal, or infectious lesions. Diseases that manifest with focal lesions, such as cystic renal cell carcinoma, mixed epithelial and stromal tumor, and cystic nephroma, are often difficult to differentiate but have differing implications for follow-up after resection. Multifocal cystic renal lesions can be categorized as acquired or heritable. Acquired entities, such as glomerulocystic kidney disease, lithium-induced nephrotoxicity, acquired cystic kidney disease, multicystic dysplastic kidney, and localized cystic renal disease, often have distinct imaging and clinical features that allow definitive diagnosis. Heritable diseases, such as autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, von Hippel-Lindau disease, and tuberous sclerosis, are usually easily identified and have various implications for patient management. Infectious diseases have varied imaging appearances, and the possibility of infection must not be overlooked when assessing a cystic renal lesion. A thorough understanding of the spectrum of cystic renal disease will allow the radiologist to make a more specific diagnosis and provide the clinician with optimal recommendations for further diagnostic testing and follow-up imaging.

Imaging features of benign and malignant ampullary and periampullary lesions.

The ampulla of Vater is an important anatomic landmark where the common bile duct and main pancreatic duct converge in the major duodenal papilla. Imaging evaluation of the ampulla and periampullary region poses a unique diagnostic challenge to radiologists because of the region's complex and variable anatomy and the variety of lesions that can occur. Lesions intrinsic to the ampulla and involved segment of the biliary tree can be neoplastic, inflammatory, or congenital. Neoplastic lesions include ampullary adenocarcinomas and adenomas, which often are difficult to differentiate, as well as pancreatic or duodenal adenocarcinomas, pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, and cholangiocarcinomas. Ultrasonography (US), computed tomography, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and MR cholangiopancreatography are commonly used to evaluate this region. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography or endoscopic US examination may be necessary for more definitive evaluation. Periampullary conditions in the duodenum that may secondarily involve the ampulla include neoplasms, duodenitis, duodenal diverticula, and Brunner's gland hyperplasia or hamartomas. Because these lesions can exhibit a wide overlap of imaging features and subtle or nonspecific imaging findings, diagnosis is made on the basis of patient age, clinical history, and imaging and laboratory findings. Given the complexity of imaging evaluation of the ampulla and periampullary region, it is essential for radiologists to understand the variety of lesions that can occur and recognize their imaging characteristics.

The combined effect of multidetector-row computed tomographic tube voltage, tube current, and image reconstruction algorithm on the detection of pneumothorax after intervention.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to determine the lowest multidetector-row computed tomographic radiation dose parameters for the detection of pneumothorax after thoracic intervention. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An anthropomorphic chest phantom containing pneumothoraces was imaged with different tube voltages (80, 100, and 120 kV[p]) and tube currents (10, 20, 40, 75, and 110 mAs). The images were reconstructed with both filtered back projection (FBP) and iterative reconstruction (IR) algorithms. Two blinded radiologists scored images independently for the presence or absence of pneumothorax. Effective dose, image noise, contrast-to-noise ratio, and signal-to-noise ratio were recorded. RESULTS: At radiation dose below 0.48 mSv, sensitivity for the detection of pneumothorax decreased in both reconstruction algorithms (80% for FBP vs 83% for IR; P > 0.05). Interobserver agreement was good (k = 0.78). The IR data sets showed lower image noise as well as higher signal-to-noise ratio and contrast-to-noise ratio when compared with FBP on all acquisition parameters (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Very low computed tomographic dose parameters may be suitable for confident detection of small pneumothoraces after intervention.

Multiparametric quantitative magnetic resonance imaging of uterine fibroids for prediction of growth rate-a pilot study.

Background: Uterine fibroid (UF) growth rate and future morbidity cannot be predicted. This can lead to sub-optimal clinical management, with women being lost to follow-up and later presenting with severe disease that may require hospitalization, transfusions, and urgent surgical interventions. Multi-parametric quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could provide a biomarker to predict growth rate facilitating better-informed disease management and better clinical outcomes. We assessed the ability of putative quantitative and qualitative MRI predictive factors to predict UF growth rate. Methods: Twenty women with UFs were recruited and completed baseline and follow-up MRI exams, 1-2.5 years apart. The subjects filled out symptom severity and health-related quality of life questionnaires at each visit. A standard clinical pelvic MRI non-contrast exam was performed at each visit, followed by a contrast-enhanced multi-parametric quantitative MRI (mp-qMRI) exam with T2, T2*, and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) mapping and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. Up to 3 largest fibroids were identified and outlined on the T2-weighted sequence. Fibroid morphology and enhancement patterns were qualitatively assessed on dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. The UFs' volumes and average T2, T2*, and ADC values were calculated. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated between UF growth rate and T2, T2*, ADC, and baseline volume. Multiple logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were performed to predict fast-growing UFs using combinations of up to 2 significant predictors. A significance level of alpha =0.05 was used. Results: Forty-four fibroids in 20 women had growth rate measurement available, and 36 fibroids in 16 women had follow-up quantitative MRI available. The distribution of fibroid growth rate was skewed, with approximately 20% of the fibroids exhibiting fast growth (>10 cc/year). However, there were no significant changes in median baseline and follow-up values of symptom severity and health-related quality of life scores. There was no change in average T2, T2*, and ADC at follow-up exams and there was a moderate to strong correlation to the fibroid growth rate in baseline volume and average T2 and ADC in slow-growing fibroids (<10 cc/year). A multiple logistic regression to identify fast growing UFs (>10 cc/year) achieved an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.80 with specificity of 69% at 100% sensitivity. Conclusions: The mp-qMRI parameters T2, ADC, and UF volume obtained at the time of initial fibroid diagnosis may be able to predict UF growth rate. Mp-qMRI could be integrated into the management of UFs, for individualized care and improved clinical outcomes.

Implementation of a high-resolution, high-contrast magnetic resonance imaging protocol with extended delayed phases for peritoneal mesothelioma.

Background: Imaging of peritoneal malignancies using conventional cross-sectional imaging is challenging, but accurate assessment of peritoneal disease burden could guide better selection for definitive surgery. Here we demonstrate feasibility of high-resolution, high-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of peritoneal mesothelioma and explore optimal timing for delayed post-contrast imaging. Methods: Prospective data from inpatients with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM), imaged with a novel MRI protocol, were analyzed. The new sequences augmenting the clinical protocol were (I) pre-contrast coronal high-resolution T2-weighted single-shot fast spin echo (COR hr T2w SSH FSE) of abdomen and pelvis; and (II) post-contrast coronal high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) T1-weighted modified Dixon (COR hr T1w mDIXON) of abdomen, acquired at five delay times, up to 20 min after administration of a double dose of contrast agent. Quantitative analysis of contrast enhancement was performed using linear regression applied to normalized signal in lesion regions of interest (ROIs). Qualitative analysis was performed by three blinded radiologists. Results: MRI exams from 14 participants (age: mean ± standard deviation, 60±12 years; 71% male) were analyzed. The rate of lesion contrast enhancement was strongly correlated with tumor grade (cumulative nuclear score) (r=-0.65, P<0.02), with 'early' delayed phase (12 min post-contrast) and 'late' delayed phase (19 min post-contrast) performing better for higher grade and lower grade tumors, respectively, in agreement with qualitative scoring of image contrast. Conclusions: High-resolution, high-contrast MRI with extended post-contrast imaging is a viable modality for imaging peritoneal mesothelioma. Multiple, extended (up to 20 min post-contrast) delayed phases are necessary for optimal imaging of peritoneal mesothelioma, depending on the grade of disease.

Assessment of liver tumor response to therapy: role of quantitative imaging.

Quantitative imaging is the analysis of retrieved numeric data from images with the goal of reducing subjective assessment. It is an increasingly important radiologic tool to assess treatment response in oncology patients. Quantification of response to therapy depends on the tumor type and method of treatment. Anatomic imaging biomarkers that quantify liver tumor response to cytotoxic therapy are based on temporal change in the size of the tumors. Anatomic biomarkers have been incorporated into the World Health Organization criteria and the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) versions 1.0 and 1.1. However, the development of novel therapies with different mechanisms of action, such as antiangiogenesis or radioembolization, has required new methods for measuring response to therapy. This need has led to development of tumor- or therapy-specific guidelines such as the Modified CT Response Evaluation (Choi) Criteria for gastrointestinal stromal tumors, the European Association for Study of the Liver (EASL) criteria, and modified RECIST for hepatocellular carcinoma, among many others. The authors review the current quantification criteria used in the evaluation of treatment response in liver tumors, summarizing their indications, advantages, and disadvantages, and discuss future directions with newer methods that have the potential for assessment of treatment response. Knowledge of these quantitative methods is important to facilitate pivotal communication between oncologists and radiologists about cancer treatment, with benefit ultimately accruing to the patient.

Renal Pretransplantation Work-up, Donor, Recipient, Surgical Techniques.

Renal transplant is the single best treatment of end-stage renal disease. Computed tomography (CT) is an excellent method for the evaluation of potential renal donors and recipients. Multiphase CT is particularly useful because of detailed evaluation of the kidneys, including the vascular anatomy and the collecting system. MR imaging has no ionizing radiation, but is limited for stone detection, making it a less preferred method of evaluating donors. Preoperative knowledge of the renal vascular anatomy is essential to minimize risks for donors. Imaging evaluation of recipients is also necessary for vascular assessment and detection of incidental findings.

Magnetic resonance imaging of pancreatic metastases from renal cell carcinoma.

Pancreatic metastases are rare but are thought to be most commonly from renal cell carcinoma (RCC). These metastases can present many years after the initial tumor is resected, and accordingly, these patients require prolonged imaging follow-up. Although the computed tomographic findings of these metastases have been extensively reviewed in the literature, little has been written about the magnetic resonance imaging appearance of these metastases. Pancreatic metastases from RCC are typically T1 hypointense and T2 hyperintense. After intravenous administration of gadolinium, they are typically hypervascular and less commonly hypovascular. Chemical shift and diffusion-weighted imaging can aid in the diagnosis of these metastases.