Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a Diagnostic Tool in the Assessment of Tumour Angiogenesis in Urinary Bladder Cancer.

Purpose: The aim of study is to assess the role of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) and correlation with tumour angiogenesis in evaluation of urinary bladder cancer.

Material And Methods: The study included 81 patients with recent presumed diagnosis of bladder tumour or who came for follow up after management of histopathologically proven bladder cancer. All had DCE-MRI with time-signal intensity curve. The radiologic results then correlated with the histopathologic results using both haematoxylin and eosin stain and immuno-histochemical staining for localization and evaluation of CD34 immunoreactivity as a detector for the microvessel density (MVD) and tumour angiogenesis.

Results: Seventy-one cases were pathologically proven to be malignant: 41 cases (58%) showed type III time-signal intensity curve (descending); 22 cases (31%) showed type II (plateau); and 8 cases (11%) showed type I (ascending) curve. The sensitivity of DCE-MRI in stage T1 bladder tumour was 80%; in stage T2, it was (90.9%); and in stage T3, it was (96.9%). Overall accuracy of DCE-MRI in tumour staging was 89.5% and P = .001 (significant). Values more than the cutoff value = 76.13 MVD are cystitis with sensitivity (90%), specificity (91%), and P value is .001, which is statistically highly significant.

Conclusion: There is a strong positive association between DCE-MRI (staging and washout slope of the time-signal intensity curve) with histopathologic grade, tumour stage, and MVD in bladder cancer. So, DCE-MRI can be used as reliable technique in preoperative predictions of tumour behavior and affect the planning of antiangiogenetic therapy.