The value of diffusion-relaxation correlation spectrum imaging in differential diagnosis of early and advanced squamous cervical carcinoma

Accurately staging squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is of vital importance for determining the treatment plan, prognosis and outcome. Diffusion-relaxation correlation spectrum imaging (DR-CSI) can jointly encode diffusion and relaxation information and resolve information of tissue compartments and heterogeneity at a sub-voxel level. In this study we investigated the feasibility of DR-CSI in characterizing tissue microenvironment and staging SCC. The DR-CSI technique can non-invasively provide information on microscopic tissue compartments within voxels, reflecting intra-tissue heterogeneity. The diagnostic performance of DR-CSI in identifying early and advanced SCC was significantly superior to conventional ADC and T2.