Xiang Zheng

Upregulation of ESPL1 is associated with poor prognostic outcomes in endometrial cancer

Extra spindle pole bodies-like 1 ( The TCGA and GEO databases were utilized to assess the expression of Our analysis revealed that The upregulation of

Enhancing parametrial invasion assessment in cervical squamous cell carcinoma: the collaborative impact of diffusion kurtosis imaging and T2-weighted imaging, exploring tumour core and 5-mm peritumoural tissue

Abstract Objective To evaluate the efficacy of magnetic resonance diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) combined with MRI T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) in assessing parametrial invasion (PI) in cervical squamous cell carcinoma. Methods 30 patients with cervical cancer underwent routine MRI and DKI scans. DKI parameters (mean diffusivity [MD], mean kurtosis [MK], fractional anisotropy [FA], and kurtosis anisotropy [KA]) were measured in the tumour parenchyma and surrounding 5 mm tissue. The integrity of the low-signal ring around the cervix on T2WI was recorded. LASSO regression identified optimal DKI parameters and ROC curves compared the diagnostic performance of each parameter and T2WI. Results Compared to the non-parametrial infiltration group (NPI), the parametrial infiltration group (PI) had higher values of MKT, KAT, and KAP (P = .018, .008, .042), while MDT was higher in NPI (P = .038). LASSO regression showed strong correlations between MKT, KAT, and KAP with PI. ROC analysis revealed the AUC, sensitivity, and specificity for MKT, KAT, and KAP were 0.765, 0.706, 0.846; 0.778, 0.882, 0.615; and 0.719, 0.529, 0.923, respectively. Combining T2WI with DKI (MKT + T2WI, KAT + T2WI, KAP + T2WI) improved AUCs to 0.846, 0.828, and 0.774. MKT + KAP and KAT + KAP yielded AUCs of 0.792 and 0.787, with sensitivity of 0.706 and specificity of 0.846. Conclusion DKI parameters (tumour MK, KA, and peritumoural KA) are valuable for assessing PI. Combining tumour and peritumoural parameters, along with T2WI, enhances diagnostic accuracy. Advances in knowledge This study presented an approach that combined DKI parameters with T2WI, integrating tumour and peritumoural parameter analysis to enhance the accuracy of assessing PI.

Integrated pretreatment diffusion kurtosis imaging and serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen levels: a biomarker strategy for early assessment of radiotherapy outcomes in cervical cancer

This study aims to explore the utility of pretreatment DKI parameters and serum SCC-Ag in evaluating the early therapeutic response of cervical cancer to radiotherapy. A total of 33 patients diagnosed with cervical cancer, including 31 cases of cervical squamous cell carcinoma and two cases of adenosquamous carcinoma, participated in the study. All patients underwent conventional MRI and DKI scans on a 3T magnetic resonance scanner before radiotherapy and after ten sessions of radiotherapy. The therapeutic response was evaluated based on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1. Patients were categorized into a response group (RG), comprising Complete Remission (CR) and Partial Remission (PR), and a non-response group (NRG), comprising Stable Disease (SD) and Progressive Disease (PD). LASSO was employed to select pretreatment DKI parameters, and ROC curves were generated for the selected parameters and serum SCC-Ag. Significant differences were observed in pretreatment MD, Da, Dr, MK, Ka, Kr, and SCC-Ag between the RG and NRG groups (P < 0.01). However, no significant differences were noted for FA and FAK (P = 0.441&0.928). The two selected parameters (MD and MK) demonstrated area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity of 0.810, 0.769, 0.850 and 0.827, 0.846, 0.750, respectively. The combination of MD and MK exhibited an improved AUC of 0.901, sensitivity of 0.692, and specificity of 1.000, with a higher Youden index compared to the individual parameters. Conversely, the AUC, sensitivity, and specificity of the combination of MD, MK, and SCC-Ag were 0.852, 0.615, and 1.000, with a Youden index of 0.615. Pretreatment MD, MK, and SCC-Ag demonstrate potential clinical utility, with the combined application of MD and MK showing enhanced efficacy in assessing the early therapeutic response of cervical cancer to radiotherapy. The addition of SCC-Ag did not contribute further to the assessment efficacy.