Amide Proton Transfer-weighted MRI in Predicting Histologic Grade of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinom

Motivation: The potential value of APTw imaging for assessing ccRCC grade has not yet been established. Goal(s): This study aims to investigate the potential of amide proton transfer-weighted (APTw) MRI in evaluating the grade of clear cell renal cell carcinoma and to evaluate whether APTw MRI can add value to diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and mDixon MRI. Approach: A total of 48 patients with ccRCC (10 high-grade) were included. ROC curve analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of quantitative imaging parameters. Results: The results show that APTw is a potential indicator for preoperative prediction of ccRCC pathologic grade. Impact: APTwmean, APTwmax, APTwSD, and ADCmin values are potential indicators for preoperative prediction of ccRCC pathological grading. APTwSD showed greater diagnostic performance.