Intravoxel Incoherent Motion Combined With Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Perfusion MRI of Early Cervical Carcinoma: Correlations Between Multimodal Parameters and HIF-1α Expression

Background: The identification of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF-1α) expression is helpful for the quantitative assessment of tumor hypoxia. The application of multimodal imaging techniques may play a part in the assessment of HIF-1α expression of cervical carcinoma.

Purpose: To investigate the correlations between multiple imaging parameters and HIF-1α expression of early cervical carcinoma and to determine whether tumor hypoxia can be predicted using multisequence imaging parameters.

Study type: Prospective observational.

Population: One hundred patients with early cervical carcinoma.

Field strength/sequences: 3.0 T MRI including intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) perfusion MRI sequences.

Assessment: DCE-MRI and IVIM DWI were performed for all patients. The imaging parameters included volume transfer constant (K^trans ), rate constant (K_ep ), extravascular extracellular volume fraction (V_e ), D, D*, and f.

Statistical tests: The comparisons of imaging parameters between two independent groups were performed using the Mann-Whitney U-test. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine the correlation between multiple imaging parameters and HIF-1α expression. The diagnostic ability of DCE-MRI, IVIM DWI, and the combination of two techniques for discriminating high-expression and low-expression groups were analyzed.

Results: The high-expression group had a lower K^trans or K_ep value than the low-expression group (P = 0.03; 0.02), while the high-expression group had a higher V_e value than the low-expression group (P = 0.03). The high-expression group had a higher D or f value than the low-expression group (P = 0.02; 0.02). K^trans , K_ep , D, V_e , and f values were independently correlated with HIF-1α expression. The sensitivity or accuracy of a combined method was higher than that of DCE-MRI or IVIM DWI individually (P = 0.03, 0.02; 0.04, 0.03).

Data conclusion: The combination of DCE-MRI and IVIM DWI can improve the diagnostic ability of discriminating different HIF-1α expression levels for early cervical tumors.

Level of evidence: 1 Technical Efficacy Stage: 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;50:918-929.