Scientific Reports (Jun 2021)

Prognostic value of MRI-measured tumor thickness in patients with tongue squamous cell carcinoma

  • Ki-Sun Park,
  • Yangsean Choi,
  • Jiwoong Kim,
  • Kook-Jin Ahn,
  • Bum-soo Kim,
  • Youn Soo Lee,
  • Dong-Il Sun,
  • Min-Sik Kim

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90655-z
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

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Abstract This study aimed to assess the prognostic value of MRI-measured tumor thickness (MRI-TT) in patients with tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). This single-center retrospective cohort study included 133 pathologically confirmed tongue SCC patients between January 2009 and October 2019. MRI measurements of tongue SCC were based on axial and coronal T2-weighted (T2WI) and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted (CE-T1WI) images. Two radiologists independently measured MRI-TT. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated for inter-rater agreements. Spearman’s rank correlation between MRI-TT and pathologic depth of invasion (pDOI) was assessed. Cox proportional hazards analyses on recurrence-free (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were performed for MRI-TT and pDOI. Kaplan–Meier survival curves were plotted with log-rank tests. The intra- and inter-rater agreements of MRI-TT were excellent (ICC: 0.829–0.897, all P < 0.001). The correlation between MRI-TT and pDOI was good (Spearman’s correlation coefficients: 0.72–0.76, P < 0.001). MRI-TT were significantly greater than pDOI in all axial and coronal T2WI and CE-T1WI (P < 0.001). In multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis, MRI-TT measured on axial CE-T1WI yielded a significant prognostic value for OS (hazards ratio 2.77; P = 0.034). MRI-TT demonstrated excellent intra- and inter-rater agreements as well as high correlation with pDOI. MRI-TT may serve as a prognostic predictor in patients with tongue SCC.