Skip to main content
Insights into Imaging
Fig. 3 | Insights into Imaging

Fig. 3

From: T2 relaxation time for the early prediction of treatment response to chemoradiation in locally advanced rectal cancer

Fig. 3

MR images of a 74-year-old man with poor response to chemoradiotherapy. Baseline sagittal (a), axial (b), and coronal (c) T2-weighted images showing neoplastic tissue in the upper rectum with diffuse infiltration to the rectal wall and mesorectal fat (T3). The freehand ROI is drawn on the original image of the T2 maps (d), and then the 67 ms T2 value is calculated accordingly, which appears green on the color-coded image (e). This patient is confirmed to have tubular adenocarcinoma on biopsy (f, hematoxylin–eosin stain, original magnification ×100). At the end of radiotherapy, the tumor volume is reduced (g–i), and the T2 value decreased to 62 ms (j, k), and the relative T2 decreased to 7.4%. The tumor volume was further reduced after CRT (l–n), and the T2 value decreased to 57 ms (o, p) (the dotted red areas on the color-coded image represent the components of interstitial fibrosis). The postoperative pathology is TRG 3, with more residual tumor cells in fibrosis (q, hematoxylin–eosin stain, original magnification ×100)

Back to article page