Diffusion-weighted MRI to determine response and long-term clinical outcomes in muscle-invasive bladder cancer following neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine local treatment response and long-term survival outcomes in patients with localised muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) using diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) analysis. METHODS: Patients with T2-T4aN0-3M0 bladder cancer suitable for NAC were recruited prospectively. DWI was performed prior to NAC and was repeated following NAC completion. Conventional response assessment was performed with cystoscopy and tumour site biopsy. Response was dichotomised into response (15.5% was associated with significant improvement in OS (HR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.19-0.86; p=0.0179), bCSS (HR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.08-0.82; p=0.0214), PFS (HR, 0.16; 95% CI, 0.05-0.48; p=0.0012), and time to cystectomy (HR, 0.19; 95% CI, 0.07-0.47; p=0.0004). CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative ADC analysis can successfully identify NAC response and improved long-term clinical outcomes. Multi-centre validation to assess reproducibility and repeatability is required before testing within clinical trials to inform MIBC treatment decision making. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: We successfully demonstrated that measured change in DWI can successfully identify NAC response and improved long-term survival outcomes

Realizing the potential of magnetic resonance image guided radiotherapy in gynaecological and rectal cancer

CT-based radiotherapy workflow is limited by poor soft tissue definition in the pelvis and reliance on rigid registration methods. Current image-guided radiotherapy and adaptive radiotherapy models therefore have limited ability to improve clinical outcomes. The advent of MRI-guided radiotherapy solutions provides the opportunity to overcome these limitations with the potential to deliver online real-time MRI-based plan adaptation on a daily basis, a true “plan of the day.” This review describes the application of MRI guided radiotherapy in two pelvic tumour sites likely to benefit from this approach

Quantitative analysis of diffusion weighted imaging in rectal cancer during radiotherapy using a magnetic resonance imaging integrated linear accelerator.

Background and purpose: Magnetic resonance imaging integrated linear accelerator (MR-Linac) platforms enable acquisition of diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) during treatment providing potential information about treatment response. Obtaining DWI on these platforms is technically different from diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners. The aim of this project was to determine feasibility of obtaining DWI and calculating apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) parameters longitudinally in rectal cancer patients on the MR-Linac. Materials and methods: Nine patients undergoing treatment on MR-Linac had DWI acquired using b-values 0, 30, 150, 500 s/mm2. Gross tumour volume (GTV) and normal tissue was delineated on DWI throughout treatment and median ADC was calculated using an in-house tool (pyOsirix ®). Results: Seven out of nine patients were included in the analysis; all demonstrated downstaging at follow-up. A total of 63 out of 70 DWI were analysed (7 excluded due to poor image quality). An increasing trend of ADC median for GTV (1.15 × 10-3 mm2/s interquartile range (IQ): 1.05-1.17 vs 1.59 × 10-3 mm2/s IQ: 1.37 - 1.64; p = 0.0156), correlating to treatment response. In comparison ADC median for normal tissue remained the same between first and last fraction (1.61 × 10-3 mm2/s IQ: 1.56-1.71 vs 1.67 × 10-3 mm2/s IQ: 1.37-2.00; p = 0.9375). Conclusions: DWI assessment in rectal cancer patients on MR-Linac is feasible. Initial results provide foundations for further studies to determine DWI use for treatment adaptation in rectal cancer