Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Preliminary Study of the Correlations Between Quantitative Parameters and Clinical Stage

PurposeTo evaluate the relationship between quantitative parameters of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) and clinical stage of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Materials and MethodsFifty-one newly diagnosed NPC patients received MRI examination on Philips Achieva 3.0 Tesla TX MR system. We used DCE-Tool (Philips Healthcare, Best, The Netherlands) to investigate parameters from primary tumors. Tumor/node/metastasis and corresponding clinical stages were determined based on 2009 UICC 7th edition. The correlations between quantitative parameters and clinical stage were correlated using Pearson correlation analysis. ResultsMean K-trans, K-ep, v(e), and v(p) for primary tumors were 0.500 0.188/min, 0.744 +/- 0.273/min, 0.986 +/- 0.595, and 0.052 +/- 0.071, respectively. Both K-trans and K-ep of tumors showed moderate negative correlation with clinical stage, T stage and N stage (P < 0.05), while v(e) showed moderate positive correlation with them (P < 0.05). v(p) revealed a moderate negative correlation with T stage (r = -0.369; P < 0.004). K-ep and v(e) have significant differences between many early and advanced stages patients. ConclusionDCE-MRI is feasible to assess vascular permeability of NPC patients. Our results first revealed that the quantitative parameters were significantly related to clinical stage of NPC. Thus, DCE-MRI may be valuable to add noninvasive prognostic indicators in evaluating NPC. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2014;39:940-948. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.