Assessment of the Prognosis of Pancreatic Cancer Patients Using 3D MRE

Summary

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), representing 85-95% of pancreatic cancers, is a highly lethal malignancy with a dismal 5-year survival rate below 8%. Emerging evidence highlights the critical need for non-invasive imaging biomarkers to stratify prognosis and guide therapeutic strategies. Notably, the biomechanical properties of PDAC-associated extracellular matrix (ECM), characterized by extensive interstitial fibrosis, are intrinsically linked to tumorigenesis, progression, and metastatic dissemination. Three-dimensional magnetic resonance elastography (3D-MRE), as an advanced imaging modality, enables precise quantification of tissue shear stiffness in both normal pancreatic parenchyma and neoplastic lesions. Significantly, the biomechanical heterogeneity captured by MRE holds untapped potential to serve as a prognostic biomarker for PDAC. Despite its technical merits, no studies to date have systematically explored MRE-derived imaging signatures in predicting PDAC survival outcomes or therapeutic responses, underscoring a pivotal gap in translational oncology research.

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

1. granting of written informed consent
2. age ≥18 years
3. no history of extrapancreatic malignancy
4. no preoperative biliary drainage
5. definitive histologic evidence of PDAC in excisional biopsy
6. with no less than three months of postoperative mortality or six months of follow- up

Exclusion Criteria:

1. inability to re-review of tissue specimens
2. unacceptable estimates of MRE parameters, specifically invalid wave data during postprocessing, inconsistent breath-holdings, intolerable pain, and MRE hardware disconnection
3. tumor diameters \<1.0 cm
4. withdrawal/dropout during follow-up

Conditions2

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