Novel Use and Value of Contrast-Enhanced Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging Morphologic and Radiomic Features in Predicting Extremity Soft Tissue Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma Treatment Response.

Abstract

Purpose: Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas (UPSs) demonstrate therapy-induced hemosiderin deposition, granulation tissue formation, fibrosis, and calcification. We aimed to determine the treatment-assessment value of morphologic tumoral hemorrhage patterns and first- and high-order radiomic features extracted from contrast-enhanced susceptibility-weighted imaging (CE-SWI).

Materials and methods: This retrospective institutional review board-authorized study included 33 patients with extremity UPS with magnetic resonance imaging and resection performed from February 2021 to May 2023. Volumetric tumor segmentation was obtained at baseline, postsystemic chemotherapy (PC), and postradiation therapy (PRT). The pathology-assessed treatment effect (PATE) in surgical specimens separated patients into responders (R; ≥90%, n = 16), partial responders (PR; 89%-31%, n = 10), and nonresponders (NR; ≤30%, n = 7). RECIST, WHO, and volume were assessed for all time points. CE-SWI T2* morphologic patterns and 107 radiomic features were analyzed.

Results: A Complete-Ring (CR) pattern was observed in PRT in 71.4% of R (P = 7.71 × 10^-6), an Incomplete-Ring pattern in 33.3% of PR (P = .2751), and a Globular pattern in 50% of NR (P = .1562). The first-order radiomic analysis from the CE-SWI intensity histogram outlined the values of the 10th and 90th percentiles and their skewness. R showed a 280% increase in 10th percentile voxels (P = .061) and a 241% increase in skewness (P = .0449) at PC. PR/NR showed a 690% increase in the 90th percentile voxels (P = .03) at PC. Multiple high-order radiomic texture features observed at PRT discriminated better R versus PR/NR than the first-order features.

Conclusion: CE-SWI morphologic patterns strongly correlate with PATE. The CR morphology pattern was the most frequent in R and had the highest statistical association predicting response at PRT, easily recognized by a radiologist not requiring postprocessing software. It can potentially outperform size-based metrics, such as RECIST. The first- and high-order radiomic analysis found several features separating R versus PR/NR.