¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT Texture Features Combined With MMP-7 Expression Predicting Pelvic Lymphatic Metastasis In Cervical Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Objective:The purpose of this study was to investigate the value of 2-deoxy-2-¹⁸F fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography(¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT)texture features combined with matrix metalloproteinase?MMP-7?expression in predicting pelvic lymphatic metastasis in patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma.Materials and Methods:According to the International Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology?FIGO-2009?Cervical Cancer Staging System,50 patients with stage Ia-IIa cervical squamous cell carcinoma were selected.All patients underwent ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT scan before surgery.The texture features of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT images were extracted and the value of texture features combined with MMP-7 expression levels in predicting lymphatic metastasis was assessed by receiver operating characteristic curve?ROC?.Results:MMP-7 expression was higher in patients with lymph node metastasis than in patients without lymph node metastasis.The homogenous texture feature-skewness obtained in the histogram has certain value in predicting lymphatic metastasis?AUC=0.950,P<0.05,95%CI 0.885-1.000,Specificity=88.90%,sensitivity=95.70%?.At the same time,the combination of texture features and MMP-7 expression had significantly superior predictive value?AUC=0.968,P<0.05,95%CI 0.929-1.000,Specificity=92.60%,sensitivity=91.30%?.Conclusion:In patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma,PLN metastasis can be predicted by the textural feature of homogeneity.Radiomic features in combination with the MMP-7 expression level improved the prediction accuracy.