Application of the amide proton transfer-weighted imaging and diffusion kurtosis imaging in the study of cervical cancer

To analyze the value of amide proton transfer-weighted imaging (APTWI) and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) in differentiating cervical cancer (CC) pathological type, grade, and stage. One hundred and twelve women underwent pelvic APTWI and DKI. The magnetization transfer ratio asymmetry (MTRasym, 3.5 ppm), apparent kurtosis coefficient (Kapp), and non-Gaussian diffusion coefficient (Dapp) were calculated by histological subtype, grade, and stage. The differences, efficacy, and correlation between parameters were determined. The MTRasym(3.5 ppm) and Dapp values of the adenocarcinoma (CA) group were higher than those of the cervical squamous carcinoma (CSC) group, while the Kapp values were lower than those of the CSC group. The MTRasym(3.5 ppm) and Kapp values of the high-grade group were higher than those of the low-grade group, while the Dapp values were lower than those of the low-grade group. The Dapp values of the advanced-stage group were lower than those of the early-stage group, while the Kapp values were greater than those of the early-stage group. The Kapp showed the highest efficacy in differentiating CSC and CA, high- and low-grade CC, and advanced- and early-stage CC. In the CSC and CA groups, both the Kapp and Dapp were highly correlated with pathological grade, and the MTRasym(3.5 ppm) was weakly correlated with pathological grade. The Kapp, Dapp, and MTRasym(3.5 ppm) were all weakly correlated with pathological stage. Both DKI and APTWI can be used in preliminary evaluations of CC, but DKI has advantages in the identification of pathological type, grade, and stage. • PTWI and DKI provide new information regarding cervical cancer. • MTRasym(3.5 ppm), D app , and K app are valid parameters to characterize tissue microstructure. • DKI is superior to APTWI in the study of cervical cancer.