PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Rasmussen, Jacob H.
AU  - Nørgaard, Martin
AU  - Hansen, Adam E.
AU  - Vogelius, Ivan R.
AU  - Aznar, Marianne C.
AU  - Johannesen, Helle H.
AU  - Costa, Junia
AU  - Engberg, Astrid M.E.
AU  - Kjær, Andreas
AU  - Specht, Lena
AU  - Fischer, Barbara M.
TI  - Feasibility of Multiparametric Imaging with PET/MR in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
AID  - 10.2967/jnumed.116.180091
DP  - 2017 Jan 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - 69--74
VI  - 58
IP  - 1
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/58/1/69.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/58/1/69.full
SO  - J Nucl Med2017 Jan 01; 58
AB  - The purpose of this study was to investigate and assess the correlation and reproducibility of multiparametric imaging in head and neck cancer patients. Methods: Twenty-one patients were included in this prospective scan–rescan study. All patients were scanned twice on an integrated PET and MRI scanner. Gross tumor volumes were defined on T2-weighted MR images, and volumes of interest were defined on diffusion-weighted MRI and 18F-FDG PET (VOIDWI, VOIPET). Overlap between volumes was assessed as a percentwise overlap. 18F-FDG uptake and diffusion were measured using SUV and apparent diffusion coefficient, and correlation was tested across and within patients and as a voxel-by-voxel analysis. Results: Seventeen patients were available for correlation analysis, and 12 patients were available for assessment of tumor overlap. The median tumor overlap between VOIDWI and VOIPET was 82% (VOIDWI in VOIPET) and 62% (VOIPET in VOIDWI) on scan 1 and scan 2, respectively. Across patients, the correlation between SUV and apparent diffusion coefficient was weak and nonsignificant. However, in individual patients a weak but significant correlation was identified on a voxel-by-voxel basis. Conclusion: In multiparametric imaging with the integrated PET/MR scanner, the VOIs from DWI and 18F-FDG PET were both within the target volume for radiotherapy and overlapped substantially although not completely. No correlation between 18F-FDG uptake and DWI could be found across patients, but within individual patients a statistically significant, but weak, voxel-by-voxel correlation was found. The findings suggest that information on glucose uptake and diffusion coefficient carries complementary information of interest that may be relevant for radiotherapy treatment planning.