Imaging-based biomarkers: Changes in the tumor interface of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma on computed tomography scans indicate response to cytotoxic therapy

Ahmed M. Amer, Mohamed Zaid, Baishali Chaudhury, Dalia Elganainy, Yeonju Lee, Christopher T. Wilke, Jordan Cloyd, Huamin Wang, Anirban Maitra, Robert A. Wolff, Gauri Varadhachary, Michael J. Overman, Jeffery E. Lee, Jason B. Fleming, Ching Wei Tzeng, Matthew H. Katz, Emma B. Holliday, Sunil Krishnan, Bruce D. Minsky, Joseph M. HermanCullen M. Taniguchi, Prajnan Das, Christopher H. Crane, Ott Le, Priya Bhosale, Eric P. Tamm, Eugene J. Koay

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The assessment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) response to therapy remains challenging. The objective of this study was to investigate whether changes in the tumor/parenchyma interface are associated with response. METHODS: Computed tomography (CT) scans before and after therapy were reviewed in 4 cohorts: cohort 1 (99 patients with stage I/II PDAC who received neoadjuvant chemoradiation and surgery); cohort 2 (86 patients with stage IV PDAC who received chemotherapy), cohort 3 (94 patients with stage I/II PDAC who received protocol-based neoadjuvant gemcitabine chemoradiation), and cohort 4 (47 patients with stage I/II PDAC who received neoadjuvant chemoradiation and were prospectively followed in a registry). The tumor/parenchyma interface was visually classified as either a type I response (the interface remained or became well defined) or a type II response (the interface became poorly defined) after therapy. Consensus (cohorts 1-3) and individual (cohort 4) visual scoring was performed. Changes in enhancement at the interface were quantified using a proprietary platform. RESULTS: In cohort 1, type I responders had a greater probability of achieving a complete or near-complete pathologic response (21% vs 0%; P =.01). For cohorts 1, 2, and 3, type I responders had significantly longer disease-free and overall survival, independent of traditional covariates of outcomes and of baseline and normalized cancer antigen 19-9 levels. In cohort 4, 2 senior radiologists achieved a κ value of 0.8, and the interface score was associated with overall survival. The quantitative method revealed high specificity and sensitivity in classifying patients as type I or type II responders (with an area under the receiver operating curve of 0.92 in cohort 1, 0.96 in cohort 2, and 0.89 in cohort 3). CONCLUSIONS: Changes at the PDAC/parenchyma interface may serve as an early predictor of response to therapy. Cancer 2018;124:1701-9.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1701-1709
Number of pages9
JournalCancer
Volume124
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 15 2018

Keywords

  • Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST)
  • cytotoxic therapy
  • imaging biomarker
  • pancreatic cancer
  • response

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

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