Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI for uterine cervical cancer: correlations with clinical staging and pathologic types

Tumor blood supply is closely related to the tumor occurrence, development, metastasis and prognosis. MRI is the optimal imaging method for investigating uterine cervical carcinoma, which provides excellent morphological information using conventional series. Additionally, the tumor perfusion information can be quantitatively assessed by dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI). DCE derived parameters include MaxSlop, CER, IAUGC, K^trans, K_ep and V_e. Our results showed mild negative correlation to clinical FIGO stage based on mean and maximum of K^trans and K_ep, increased minimum MaxSlop, and increased max- and mini-mum K^trans in squamous cell carcinoma than those of adenocarcinoma. DCE-MRI is a significant supplement to provide valuable morphological information that contributes to clinical decision-making and prognosis prediction.