Differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules by DCE-MRI based on compressed sensing volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination: A feasibility study

Junhao Huang; Daihong Liu; Jiao Chen; Xiaoxia Wang; Lin Tang; Jing Zhang; Yong Tan; Xiaosong Lan; Ting Yin; Dominik Nickel; Jian Wu; Jiuquan Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.mri.2024.05.006

Differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules by DCE-MRI based on compressed sensing volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination: A feasibility study

Magn Reson Imaging. 2024 May 8:111:138-147. doi: 10.1016/j.mri.2024.05.006. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Junhao Huang¹, Daihong Liu¹, Jiao Chen¹, Xiaoxia Wang¹, Lin Tang¹, Jing Zhang¹, Yong Tan¹, Xiaosong Lan¹, Ting Yin², Dominik Nickel³, Jian Wu⁴, Jiuquan Zhang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
² MR Collaborations, Siemens Healthineers Ltd., Chengdu, China.
³ MR Applications Predevelopment, Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Erlangen, Germany.
⁴ Head and Neck Cancer Center, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
⁵ Department of Radiology, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China. Electronic address: zhangjq_radiol@foxmail.com.

PMID: 38729225
DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2024.05.006

Abstract

Objectives: To explore the potential and performance of quantitative and semi-quantitative parameters derived from dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) based on compressed sensing volumetric interpolated breath-hold (CS-VIBE) examination in the differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules.

Materials and methods: A total of 208 patients with 259 thyroid nodules scheduled for surgery operation were prospectively recruited. All participants underwent routine and DCE-MRI. DCE-MRI quantitative parameters [Ktrans, Kep, Ve], semi-quantitative parameters [wash-in, wash-out, time to peak (TTP), arrival time (AT), peak enhancement intensity (PEI), and initial area under curve in 60 s (iAUC)] and time-intensity curve (TIC) types were analyzed. Differential diagnostic performances were assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and compared with the Delong test.

Results: Ktrans, Kep, Ve, wash-in, wash-out, PEI and iAUC were statistically significantly different between malignant and benign nodules (P < 0.001). Among these parameters, ROC analysis revealed that Ktrans showed the highest diagnostic performance in the differentiation of benign and malignant nodules, followed by wash-in. ROC analysis also revealed that Ktrans achieved the best diagnostic performance for distinguishing papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) from non-PTC, follicular adenoma (FA) from non-FA, nodular goiter (NG) from non-NG, with AUC values of 0.854, 0.895 and 0.609, respectively. Type III curve is frequently observed in benign thyroid nodules, accounting for 77.4% (82/106). While malignant nodules are more common in type II, accounting for 57.5% (88/153).

Conclusion: Thyroid examination using CS-VIBE based DCE-MRI is a feasible, non-invasive method to identify benign and malignant thyroid nodules and pathological types.

Keywords: DCE-MRI; Differential diagnosis; Kinetics; Thyroid nodule.