MRI evaluation of vulvar squamous ‐cell carcinoma in fresh radical local excision specimens for cancer localization and prediction of surgical tumor‐free margins

This study assessed the feasibility of 7  T ex vivo MRI in localizing vulvar squamous‐cell carcinoma (VSCC) and assessing tumor‐free margins in fresh radical local excision specimens to guide the surgeon. Annotations of VSCC and tumor‐free margins on ex vivo MRI were directly compared with histology. The results demonstrated high di agnostic performance in VSCC localization and identification of margins less than 8 mm as well as high correlation and agreement between ex vivo MRI and histology which suggest clinical applicability. In the surgical treatment of vulvar squamous ‐cell carcinoma (VSCC), tumor‐free margins of 8 mm or more are considered adequate. However, limited perioperative information on the tumor‐free margins other than the surgeon's own estimation is available. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the feasibility of ex vivo MRI in localizing VSCC and to assess the surgical tumor‐free margins in fresh radical local excision (RLE) specimens to guide the surgeon during resections. Nine patients with biopsy‐proven VSCC scheduled for RLE were prospectively included. Intact fresh specimens were scanned using a 7 T preclinic al MR‐scanner. Whole mount H&E ‐stained slides were obtained every 3 mm and correlated with ex vivo MRI. A pathologist annotated VSCC and minimal tumor‐free margins (3 o'clock, 9 o'clock, basal) on the digitalized histological slides. An observer with knowledge of histology (the non‐blinded annotatio...
Source: NMR in Biomedicine - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research