Abstract
The change in tissue stiffness caused by pathological changes in the tissue’s structure could be detected earlier, prior to the manifestation of their clinical features. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a noninvasive imaging technique that uses low-frequency vibrations to quantitatively measure the elasticity or stiffness of tissues. In tumor tissue, stiffness is directly related to tumor development, invasion, metastasis, and chemoradiotherapy resistance. It also dictates the choice of surgical method. At present, MRE is widely used in assessing different human organs, such as the liver, brain, breast, prostate, uterus, gallbladder, and colon stiffness. In the field of oncology, MRE’s value lies in tumor diagnosis (especially early diagnosis), selection of treatment method, and prognosis evaluation. This article summarizes the principle of MRE and its research and application progress in tumor diagnosis and treatment.
Highlights
Stiffness is an important mechanical parameter and one of the physical properties of human tissues, closely related to biological characteristics [1, 2]
The results showed that the average stiffness of malignant liver tumor (10.1 kPa) was higher than that of benign liver tumor (2.7 kPa), liver fibrosis (5.9 kPa), and normal liver parenchyma (2.3 kPa) [45]
The results showed that the average elastic values of normal adipose tissue, fibroglandular tissue, and tumor tissue were 3.3 kPa, 7.5 kPa, and 33 kPa, respectively [53]
Summary
The change in tissue stiffness caused by pathological changes in the tissue’s structure could be detected earlier, prior to the manifestation of their clinical features. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a noninvasive imaging technique that uses lowfrequency vibrations to quantitatively measure the elasticity or stiffness of tissues. Stiffness is directly related to tumor development, invasion, metastasis, and chemoradiotherapy resistance. It dictates the choice of surgical method. In the field of oncology, MRE’s value lies in tumor diagnosis (especially early diagnosis), selection of treatment method, and prognosis evaluation. This article summarizes the principle of MRE and its research and application progress in tumor diagnosis and treatment
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