Work

Quantifying tumour heterogeneity with CT

Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Heterogeneity is a key feature of malignancy associated with adverse tumour biology. Quantifying heterogeneity could provide a useful non-invasive imaging biomarker. Heterogeneity on computed tomography (CT) can be quantified using texture analysis which extracts spatial information from CT images (unenhanced, contrast-enhanced and derived images such as CT perfusion) that may not be perceptible to the naked eye. The main components of texture analysis can be categorized into image transformation and quantification. Image transformation filters the conventional image into its basic components (spatial, frequency, etc.) to produce derived subimages. Texture quantification techniques include structural-, model- (fractal dimensions), statistical- and frequency-based methods. The underlying tumour biology that CT texture analysis may reflect includes (but is not limited to) tumour hypoxia and angiogenesis. Emerging studies show that CT texture analysis has the potential to be a useful adjunct in clinical oncologic imaging, providing important information about tumour characterization, prognosis and treatment prediction and response.
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2025811877
FWCI: 6.783
Cites: 95
Cited by: 403
Related to: 9