In vivo assessment of Lauren classification for gastric adenocarcinoma using diffusion MRI with a fractional order calculus model

Objectives To evaluate the performance of a fractional order calculus (FROC) diffusion model for imaging-based assessment of Lauren classification in gastric adenocarcinoma. Methods In this study, 43 patients (15 females, 28 males) with gastric adenocarcinoma underwent MRI at 1.5 T. According to pathology-based Lauren classification, 10 patients had diffuse-type, 20 had intestinal-type, and 13 had mixed-type lesions. The diffuse and mixed types were combined as diffuse-and-mixed type to be differentiated from the intestinal type using diffusion MRI. Diffusion-weighted images were acquired by using eleven b -values (0–2000 s/mm 2 ). Three FROC model parameters comprising diffusion coefficient D , intravoxel diffusion heterogeneity β , and a microstructural quantity μ , together with a conventional apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), were estimated. The mean parameter values in the tumour were computed by using a percentile histogram analysis. Individual or linear combinations of the mean parameters in the tumour were used to differentiate the diffuse-and-mixed type from the intestinal type using descriptive statistics and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. Results Significant differences were observed between diffuse-and-mixed-type and intestinal-type lesions in D (0.99 ± 0.20 μm 2 /ms vs. 1.11 ± 0.23 μm 2 /ms; p = 0.036), β (0.37 ± 0.08 vs. 0.43 ± 0.11; p = 0.043), μ (7.92 ± 2.79 μm vs. 9.87 ± 1.52 μm; p = 0.038), and ADC (0.81 ± 0.34 μm 2 /ms vs. 0.96 ± 0.19 μm 2 /ms; p = 0.033). Among the individual parameters, μ produced the largest area under the ROC curve (0.739). The combinations of ( D , β , μ ) and ( β and μ ) produced the best overall performance with a sensitivity of 0.739, specificity of 0.750, accuracy of 0.744, and area under the curve of 0.793 (95% confidence interval: 0.657–0.929). Conclusion Diffusion MRI with the FROC model holds promise for non-invasive assessment of Lauren classification for gastric adenocarcinoma. Key Points • High b-value diffusion MRI with a FROC model that is sensitive to tissue microstructures can differentiate the diffuse-and-mixed type from intestinal type of gastric adenocarcinoma . • The combination of FROC parameters produced the best result for distinguishing the diffuse-and-mixed type from the intestinal type with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.793 . • The FROC model parameters, individually or conjointly, hold promise for repeated, non-invasive evaluations