Clear cell renal cell carcinoma: identifying PTEN expression on multiphasic MDCT

PurposeTo investigate whether multiphasic MDCT enhancement profiles can help to identify PTEN expression in clear cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCCs). Lack of PTEN expression is associated with worsened overall survival, a more advanced Fuhrman grade, and a greater likelihood of lymph mode metastasis.MethodsWith IRB approval for this retrospective study, we derived a cohort of 103 histologically proven ccRCCs with preoperative 4-phase renal mass MDCT from 2001-2013. Following manual segmentation, a computer-assisted detection algorithm selected a 0.5-cm-diameter region of maximal attenuation within each lesion in each phase; a 0.5-cm-diameter region of interest was manually placed on uninvolved renal cortex in each phase. The relative attenuation of each lesion was calculated as [(Maximal lesion attenuation-cortex attenuation)/cortex attenuation]x100. Absolute and relative attenuation in each phase were compared using t tests. The performance of multiphasic enhancement in identifying PTEN expression was assessed with logistic regression analysis.ResultsPTEN-positive and PTEN-negative ccRCCs both exhibited peak enhancement in the corticomedullary phase. Relative corticomedullary phase attenuation was significantly greater for PTEN-negative ccRCCs in comparison to PTEN-positive ccRCCs (33.7 vs. 9.5, p=0.03). After controlling for lesion stage and size, relative corticomedullary phase attenuation had an accuracy of 84% (86/103), specificity of 100% (84/84), sensitivity of 11% (2/19), positive predictive value of 100% (2/2), and negative predictive value of 83% (84/101) in identifying PTEN expression.ConclusionRelative corticomedullary phase attenuation may help to identify PTEN expression in ccRCCs, if validated prospectively.