Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of tumor blood flow (TBF) measurement in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) in a comparison with dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) perfusion.
Materials and methods: We prospectively scanned 18 patients with HNSCC using 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with both pCASL and DCE perfusion. Quantitative TBF value in the whole-tumor region of interest (ROI), and regional TBF in the ROIs of the central and peripheral areas in the tumor were respectively measured. Relative TBF value in the whole-tumor ROI was also calculated. We determined the correlation and agreement between each measured TBF by pCASL and DCE perfusion using Pearson's correlation coefficients, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and Bland-Altman analysis.
Results: In the whole-tumor ROIs, significant correlation was observed between the absolute TBF values (r = 0.72, P < 0.01), with an ICC of 0.72; moreover, higher correlation was observed in the relative TBF (r = 0.79). The correlation was higher in the peripheral ROI (r = 0.70) than the central ROI (r = 0.65), with an ICC of 0.62 and 0.54, respectively. Bland-Altman plots revealed the underestimation of TBF by pCASL in central ROIs.
Conclusion: TBF measurement by pCASL was feasible in patients with HNSCC.
Keywords: dynamic contrast-enhanced perfusion; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling; tumor blood flow.
© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.