Native T1 mapping for differentiating the histopathologic type, grade, and stage of rectal adenocarcinoma: a pilot study

Background Previous studies have indicated that T1 relaxation time could be utilized for the analysis of tissue characteristics. T1 mapping technology has been gradually used on research of body tumor. In this study, the application of native T1 relaxation time for differentiating the histopathologic type, grade, and stage of rectal adenocarcinoma was investigated. Methods One hundred and twenty patients with pathologically confirmed rectal adenocarcinoma were retrospectively evaluated. All patients underwent high-resolution anatomical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and T1 mapping sequences. Parameters of T1 relaxation time and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were measured between the different groups. The diagnostic power was evaluated though the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results The T1 and ADC values varied significantly between rectal mucinous adenocarcinoma (MC) and non-mucinous rectal adenocarcinoma (AC) ([1986.1 ± 163.3 ms] vs. [1562.3 ± 244.2 ms] and [1.38 ± 0.23 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s] vs. [1.03 ± 0.15 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s], respectively; P < 0.001). In the AC group, T1 relaxation time were significantly different between the low- and high-grade adenocarcinoma cases ([1508.7 ± 188.6 ms] vs. [1806.5 ± 317.5 ms], P < 0.001), while no differences were apparent in the ADC values ([1.03 ± 0.14 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s] vs. [1.04 ± 0.18 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s], P > 0.05). No significant differences in T1 and ADC values were identified between the different T and N stage groups for both MC and AC (all P > 0.05). Conclusions Native T1 relaxation time can be used to discriminate MC from AC. The T1 relaxation time was helpful for differentiating the low- and high-grade of AC.