Employing Golden-Angle Radial Sparse Parallel MRI in Rectal Perfusion to Predict Extramural Venous Invasion in Rectal Cancer

Motivation: Effective treatment planning for rectal cancer relies on accurate preoperative detection of pathological extramural venous invasion (pEMVI). However, current imaging methods are limited by motion artifacts and low temporal resolution, hindering diagnostic accuracy. Goal(s): To evaluate whether combining GRASP-enhanced perfusion parameters with ADC values improves the diagnostic accuracy for detecting pEMVI compared to traditional approaches. Approach: A retrospective study was conducted using GRASP and TWIST sequences to acquire Ktrans, Kep maps and ADC values, comparing their diagnostic performance for identifying pEMVI. Results: The combination of GRASP-based perfusion parameters with ADC significantly improved diagnostic accuracy, demonstrating superior performance over single-parameter assessments and TWIST-derived metrics. Impact: Integrating GRASP-enhanced MRI with ADC values can lead to more accurate and reliable preoperative assessment of pEMVI in rectal cancer, aiding clinicians in treatment planning and potentially improving patient outcomes.