Amide Proton Transfer-weighted MRI in predicting pathological complete response of rectal adenocarcinoma

Motivation: Accurate assessment of pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant therapy may help to preserve patient organs and improve quality of life. Goal(s): This study investigated the feasibility of amide proton transfer-weighted (APTw) MR imaging in the assessment of pCR in patients with rectal cancer (RC). Approach: Pre-treatment and post-treatment APTw MRI were analyzed, measuring APTw SI of lesion to evaluate pCR predictive potential via ROC curves. Results: We found that rectal cancer lesions in the pCR group had a lower APTw signal intensity (SI) and a greater reduction in APTw SI after treatment compared with before treatment than those in the non-pCR group. Impact: APTw MRI may help identify patients with a good response.