Convolutional neural network based quantification of choline uptake in PET/CT studies is associated with overall survival in patients with prostate cancer
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2017

Aim: To develop a convolutional neural network (CNN) based automated method for quantification of 18F-choline uptake in the prostate gland in PET/CT studies and to study the association between this measure, clinical data and overall survival in patients with prostate cancer.
Methods: A CNN was trained to segment the prostate gland in CT images using manual segmentations performed by a radiologist in a group of 100 patients, who had undergone 18F-FDG PET/CT. After the training process, the CNN automatically segmented the prostate gland in the CT images and SUV values in the corresponding PET images were automatically analyzed in a separate validation group consisting of 45 patients with biopsy-proven hormone-naïve prostate cancer. All patients had undergone an 18F-choline PET/CT as part of a previous research project. Voxels localized in the prostate gland and having a SUV >2.65 were defined as abnormal, as proposed by Reske S et al. (2006). Automated calculation of the following five PET measurements was performed: maximal SUV within the prostate gland - SUVmax; average SUV for voxels with SUV >2.65 - SUVmean; volume of voxels with SUV >2.65 - VOL; fraction of VOL related to the whole volume of the prostate gland - FRAC; product SUVmean x FRAC defined as Total Lesion Uptake - TLU. The association between the automated PET measurements, age, PSA, Gleason score and overall survival (OS) was evaluated using a univariate Cox proportional hazards regression model. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to estimate the survival difference (log-rank test).
Results: TLU and FRAC were significantly associated with OS in the Cox analysis while the other three PET measurements; age, PSA and Gleason score were not. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with SUVmax <5.3, SUVmean <3.5 and TLU <1 showed significantly longer survival times than patients with values higher than these thresholds.
No significant differences were found when patients were stratified based on the other two PET measurements, PSA or Gleason score.
Conclusion: Measurements reflecting 18F-choline PET uptake in the prostate gland obtained using a completely automated method were significantly associated with OS in patients with hormone-naïve prostate cancer. This type of objective quantification of PET/CT studies could be of value also for other
PET tracers and other cancers in the future.

Författare

Reza Kaboteh

Sahlgrenska universitetssjukhuset

Eirini Polymeri

Sahlgrenska universitetssjukhuset

May Sadik

Sahlgrenska universitetssjukhuset

Olof Enqvist

Chalmers, Signaler och system, Signalbehandling och medicinsk teknik

Johannes Ulén

Eigenvision AB

Mattias Ohlsson

Lunds universitet

Elin Trägårdh

Lunds universitet

Mads Poulsen

Odense Universitetshospital

Jane Angel Simonsen

Odense Universitetshospital

Poul Flemming Høilund-Carlsen

Odense Universitetshospital

Åse Johnsson

Sahlgrenska universitetssjukhuset

Lars Edenbrandt

Sahlgrenska universitetssjukhuset

European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging

1619-7070 (ISSN) 1619-7089 (eISSN)

Vol. 44 supplement 2

Ämneskategorier

Radiologi och bildbehandling

Medicinsk bildbehandling

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Senast uppdaterat

2022-04-04