Contrast-Enhanced CT Texture Analysis in Colon Cancer: Correlation with Genetic Markers

Abstract

Background: The purpose of the study was to determine whether contrast-enhanced CT texture features relate to, and can predict, the presence of specific genetic mutations involved in CRC carcinogenesis. Materials and methods: This retrospective study analyzed the pre-operative CT in the venous phase of patients with CRC, who underwent testing for mutations in the KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, and MSI genes. Using a specific software based on CT images of each patient, for each slice including the tumor a region of interest was manually drawn along the margin, obtaining the volume of interest. A total of 56 texture parameters were extracted that were compared between the wild-type gene group and the mutated gene group. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The study included 47 patients with stage III-IV CRC. Statistically significant differences between the MSS group and the MSI group were found in four parameters: GLRLM RLNU (area under the curve (AUC) 0.72, sensitivity (SE) 77.8%, specificity (SP) 65.8%), GLZLM SZHGE (AUC 0.79, SE 88.9%, SP 65.8%), GLZLM GLNU (AUC 0.74, SE 88.9%, SP 60.5%), and GLZLM ZLNU (AUC 0.77, SE 88.9%, SP 65.8%). Conclusions: The findings support the potential role of the CT texture analysis in detecting MSI in CRC based on pre-treatment CT scans.

Use of Computed Tomography–Based Texture Analysis to Differentiate Benign From Malignant Salivary Gland Lesions

“…In addition, contrast-enhanced CT is also used in CT texture analysis because of various blood supply characteristics of the tumor. [13][14][15] Previous studies also reported that 2-phase CT could differentiate neoplasms in salivary glands. [16][17][18] Therefore, this research was intended to evaluate the diagnostic ability of texture parameters by a 2-phase CT scan for the identification of SGTs (malignant and benign).…”

“…Computed tomography texture analysis has been widely available in a variety of tumors and nononcologic applications, including head and neck cancer, 8 liver cancer, 9 lung cancer, 10 quantification of hepatic fibrosis, 11 and pulmonary fibrosis, 12 in predicting pathological features and assessment of therapy and prognosis. In addition, contrast-enhanced CT is also used in CT texture analysis because of various blood supply characteristics of the tumor 13–15 . Previous studies also reported that 2-phase CT could differentiate neoplasms in salivary glands 16–18 .…”

Introduction to Special Issue Imaging in Cancer Diagnosis

“…The extraction of TA parameters from preoperative scans of patients with Stage III-IV CRC showed statistically significant differences in texture parameters between wild-type and mutated gene groups, indicating that CT TA can predict specific genetic mutations in CRC. This suggests a promising role for TA in noninvasive genetic assessments [ 22 ].…”

Computed tomography texture analysis to discriminate fungal and non-fungal infected fluid collections

“…12 Beyond that, CT texture features can provide information regarding the microstructure of tissues, which was shown in preliminary studies. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19] This is why texture features might also help to better characterize the content and different aspects of fluid collections to identify fungal associated changes, such as hyphae.…”