Real-time tissue sonoelastography for early response monitoring in cervical cancer patients treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy: preliminary results

• Published in: Journal of medical ultrasonics (2001) Vol. 42; no. 3; pp. 379 - 385
• Main Authors: Mabuchi, Seiji, Sasano, Tomoyuki, Kuroda, Hiromasa, Takahashi, Ryoko, Nakagawa, Satoshi, Kimura, Tadashi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Springer Japan 01.07.2015; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Care and treatment; Cervical cancer; Cervix; Chemoradiotherapy; Chemotherapy; Computer Systems; Development and progression; Disease; Elasticity Imaging Techniques; Female; Gynecology; Humans; Hysterectomy; Imaging; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medical prognosis; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Original Article; Patient monitoring equipment; Predictive Value of Tests; Prospective Studies; Radiation therapy; Radiology; Radiotherapy; Real time; Reduction; Treatment Outcome; Tumors; Ultrasound; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - therapy; Japan; Response monitoring; Radiotherapy; Sonoelastography; Cervical cancer
• ISSN: 1346-4523; 1613-2254
• DOI: 10.1007/s10396-015-0616-6

Purpose To investigate the utility of real-time sonoelastography (RTE) for predicting treatment response during the course of definitive radiotherapy in patients with cervical cancer. Methods Cervical cancer patients were prospectively evaluated with RTE by a single operator during the course of definitive radiotherapy to analyze the associations between the change in their tumor’s strain ratio (SR) and the treatment response. Results The SR of the cervical tumors was significantly higher than that of the normal cervical tissue (mean 3.8 vs 1.2; median 3.4 vs 1.1, p  < 0.01). Treating the cervical tumors with definitive radiotherapy significantly reduced their SR to the same level as the normal cervix among patients who achieved a complete response to definitive radiotherapy. In contrast, among patients who developed residual disease after radiotherapy, the SR of the tumor did not decrease significantly after definitive radiotherapy. Moreover, the reduction in the tumor SR detected by RTE preceded the reduction in tumor volume as assessed by transvaginal ultrasonography. Conclusion RTE is a rapid and effective method for predicting treatment response during the course of definitive radiotherapy, potentially facilitating early and personalized treatment adaptation in patients with cervical cancer.