The clinical value of dual-energy CT imaging in preoperative evaluation of pathological types of gastric cancer

Article type: Research Article

Authors: He, Yongsheng^{a; 1; *} | Qi, Xuan^{a; 1} | Luo, Xiao^a | Wang, Wuling^a | Yang, Hongkai^a | Xu, Min^a | Wu, Xuanyuan^a | Fan, Wenjie^b

Affiliations: [a] Department of Radiology, Maanshan People’s Hospital, Maanshan, Anhui, China | [b] School of Graduate, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui, China

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Yongsheng He, Department of Radiology, Maanshan People’s Hospital, No. 45 Hubei Street, Huashan District, Maanshan, Anhui 243000, China. E-mail: [email protected].

Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to this study.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common cancer worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer death. Due to the low rate of early diagnosis, most patients are already in the advanced stage and lose the chance of radical surgery. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical value of computed tomography (CT) dual-energy imaging in preoperative evaluation of pathological types of gastric cancer patients. METHODS: 121 patients with gastric cancer were selected. Dual-energy CT imaging was performed on the patients. The CT values of virtual noncontrast (VNC) images and iodine concentration of the lesion were measured, and the standardized iodine concentration ratio was calculated. The iodine concentration, iodine concentration ratio and CT values of VNC images of different pathological types were analyzed and compared. RESULTS: The iodine concentration and iodine concentration ratio of gastric mucinous carcinoma patients in venous phase and parenchymal phase were lower than those of gastric non-mucinous carcinoma patients, and the differences were statistically significant (P< 0.05). The iodine concentration and iodine concentration ratio of patients with mucinous adenocarcinoma in venous phase and parenchymal phase were lower than those of patients with choriocarcinoma, and the differences were statistically significant (P< 0.05). The iodine concentration and iodine concentration ratio of middle and high differentiated adenocarcinoma patients in venous phase and parenchymal phase were lower than those of low differentiated adenocarcinoma patients, and the differences were statistically significant (P< 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in CT values of VNC images among venous, arterial, and parenchymal phases in all pathological types of gastric cancer patients (P> 0.05). CONCLUSION: Dual-energy CT imaging plays an important role in the preoperative evaluation of patients with gastric cancer. The pathological types of gastric cancer are different, and the iodine concentration will change accordingly. Dual-energy CT imaging can effectively evaluate the pathological types of gastric cancer and has high clinical application value.

Keywords: Dual-energy CT imaging, gastric cancer, pathological type, preoperative evaluation

DOI: 10.3233/THC-220664

Journal: Technology and Health Care, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 1799-1808, 2023