Evaluation of the efficacy of chemoradiotherapy in cervical cancer using diffusion-weighted imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in cervical cancer using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values. METHODS: A total of 71 patients with cervical cancer were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent conventional magnetic resonance imaging and DWI scanning before CRT and at 7, 14, 21 days, and 6 months after CRT. These patients were divided into the complete response (CR) and non-CR groups according to the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors criteria. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the accuracy of ADC values in predicting the efficacy of CRT in cervical cancer. RESULTS: Compared with before-CRT treatment, tumor volumes were reduced and ADC values were elevated in both CR and non-CR groups after CRT treatment. At 21 days after CRT, tumor volumes in the CR group were smaller than those in the non-CR group. During the period of 21 days to 6 months after CRT, tumor regression rate and the increased rate of ADC values in the CR group were higher than those in the non-CR group. ROC curves revealed that the increased rate of ADC values at 21 days after CRT was the optimal time point for the prediction of CRT efficacy in cervical cancer, with the area under the curve, sensitivity, and specificity of 0.775, 92.7%, and 62.5%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our study provides evidence that the increased rate of ADC at 21 days after CRT might be a promising tool for predicting the efficacy of CRT in cervical cancer.