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European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging

Published in:

01-10-2013 | Original Article

Robustness of intratumour ¹⁸F-FDG PET uptake heterogeneity quantification for therapy response prediction in oesophageal carcinoma

Authors: Mathieu Hatt, Florent Tixier, Catherine Cheze Le Rest, Olivier Pradier, Dimitris Visvikis

Published in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging | Issue 11/2013

Abstract

Purpose

Intratumour uptake heterogeneity in PET quantified in terms of textural features for response to therapy has been investigated in several studies, including assessment of their robustness for reconstruction and physiological reproducibility. However, there has been no thorough assessment of the potential impact of preprocessing steps on the resulting quantification and its predictive value. The goal of this work was to assess the robustness of PET heterogeneity in textural features for delineation of functional volumes and partial volume correction (PVC).

Methods

This retrospective analysis included 50 patients with oesophageal cancer. PVC of each PET image was performed. Tumour volumes were determined using fixed and adaptive thresholding, and the fuzzy locally adaptive Bayesian algorithm, and heterogeneity was quantified using local and regional textural features. Differences in the absolute values of the image-derived parameters considered were assessed using Bland-Altman analysis. The impact on their predictive value for the identification of patient nonresponders was assessed by comparing areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves.

Results

Heterogeneity parameters were more dependent on delineation than on PVC. The parameters most sensitive to delineation and PVC were regional ones (intensity variability and size zone variability), whereas local parameters such as entropy and homogeneity were the most robust. Despite the large differences in absolute values obtained from different delineation methods or after PVC, these differences did not necessarily translate into a significant impact on their predictive value.

Conclusion

Parameters such as entropy, homogeneity, dissimilarity (for local heterogeneity characterization) and zone percentage (for regional characterization) should be preferred. This selection is based on a demonstrated high differentiation power in terms of predicting response, as well as a significant robustness with respect to the delineation method used and the partial volume effects.

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Title: Robustness of intratumour 18F-FDG PET uptake heterogeneity quantification for therapy response prediction in oesophageal carcinoma
Authors: Mathieu Hatt
Florent Tixier
Catherine Cheze Le Rest
Olivier Pradier
Dimitris Visvikis
Publication date: 01-10-2013
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging / Issue 11/2013
Print ISSN: 1619-7070
Electronic ISSN: 1619-7089
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-013-2486-8

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Robustness of intratumour ¹⁸F-FDG PET uptake heterogeneity quantification for therapy response prediction in oesophageal carcinoma

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

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