Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in cervical cancer: correlation between quantitative parameters and molecular markers hypoxia-inducible factors-1-alpha, vascular endothelial growth factor, and Ki-67
To investigate whether dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) has the potential to non-invasively detect microenvironmental condition by quantitatively measuring blood perfusion, vessel wall permeability, and vascularity, and to elucidate the possible correlations between DCE-MRI quantitative parameters and the expression level of hypoxia, vascularity, and cell proliferation related molecular biomarkers. In this prospective single center clinical study, 58 patients diagnosed with cervical cancer underwent DCE-MRI before anticancer treatment were enrolled. K In HIF-1α low-expression group, K Our results suggest that DCE-MRI quantitative parameters could be potentially used as imaging markers for non-invasively detecting microenvironmental hypoxia, vascularity and proliferation in cervical cancer patients.