Contrast-ultrasound dispersion imaging for renal cell carcinoma diagnostics

Peiran Chen; Simona Turco; Zhaohan Liu; Christiaan Widdershoven; Jorg Oddens; Hessel Wijkstra; Massimo Mischi; Patricia Zondervan

Contrast-ultrasound dispersion imaging for renal cell carcinoma diagnostics

Authors

Peiran Chen Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, De Groene Loper 19, Eindhoven 5612 AP, the Netherlands
Simona Turco Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, De Groene Loper 19, Eindhoven 5612 AP, the Netherlands
Zhaohan Liu Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, De Groene Loper 19, Eindhoven 5612 AP, the Netherlands
Christiaan Widdershoven Department of Urology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, De Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam 1081 HV, the Netherlands
Jorg Oddens Department of Urology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, De Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam 1081 HV, the Netherlands
Hessel Wijkstra Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, De Groene Loper 19, Eindhoven 5612 AP, the Netherlands
Massimo Mischi Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, De Groene Loper 19, Eindhoven 5612 AP, the Netherlands
Patricia Zondervan Department of Urology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, De Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam 1081 HV, the Netherlands

Keywords:

Urology, Renal cell carcinoma diagnostics, Angiogenesis, Dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound, Contrast-ultrasound dispersion imaging

Abstract

Cost-effective screening methods for Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) are still lacking. Angiogenesis is a recognized hallmark of cancer growth, leading to distinguishable perfusion patterns in tumors from those in normal tissue. This establishes the basis for diagnostic imaging solutions by dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US). In the past years, we have developed contrast-ultrasound dispersion imaging (CUDI) techniques to quantify prostate DCE-US acquisitions, obtaining promising results for prostate cancer localization. In this pilot study, we investigated for the first time its feasibility for RCC localization. DCE-US acquisitions of the kidney in 5 patients were used to perform CUDI analysis. With the obtained CUDI parameters and the delineated tumor and parenchyma regions, we performed pixel-based classification, from which the highest area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curve (AUC) = 0.96 was obtained for an individual patient, and an average AUC = 0.68 was obtained for the full patient dataset, showing the potential of CUDI for solid RCC localization. Further validation in a larger dataset and evaluation of the compatibility of point-of-care diagnosis are required.

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Contrast-ultrasound dispersion imaging for renal cell carcinoma diagnostics