Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging as a Prognostic Marker in Osteosarcoma Patients with Preoperative Chemotherapy

BACKGROUND: The accurate prediction of prognosis is key to prompt therapy adjustment. The purpose of our study was to investigate the efficacy of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) in predicting progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in osteosarcoma patients with preoperative chemotherapy. METHODS: Thirty patients who underwent DKI before and after chemotherapy, followed by tumor resection, were retrospectively enrolled. The patients were grouped into good responders (GRs) and poor responders (PRs). The Kaplan-Meier and log-rank test were used for survival analysis. The association between the DKI parameters and OS and PFS was performed by univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: Significantly worse OS and PFS were associated with a lower mean diffusivity (MD) after chemotherapy (HR, 5.8; 95% CI, 1.5-23.1; P = 0.012 and HR, 3.5; 95% CI, 1.2-10.1: P = 0.028, respectively) and a higher mean kurtosis (MK) after chemotherapy (HR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1-0.9; P = 0.041 and HR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1-0.8; P = 0.049, respectively). Likewise, shorter OS and PFS were also significantly associated with a change rate in MD (CR MD) of less than 13.53% (HR, 8.6; 95% CI, 1.8-41.8; P = 0.007 and HR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.0-8.2; P = 0.045, respectively). Compared to GRs, PRs had an approximately 9- and 4-fold increased risk of death (HR, 9.4; 95% CI, 1.2-75; P = 0.034) and progression (HR, 4.2; 95% CI, 1.2-15; P = 0.026), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: DKI has a potential to be a prognostic tool in osteosarcoma. Low MK and high MD after chemotherapy or high CR MD indicates favorite outcome, while prospective studies with large sample sizes are warranted.