Assessing tumor internal heterogeneity and pathological findings of oral tongue cancer using voxel-based TIC analysis

Evaluating the heterogeneous characteristics and lymph node metastasis status of the tumor would be of importance to stratify patients to have the individually tailored management. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of pixel-by-pixel TIC method in evaluating tumor heterogeneity and predicting histological tumor grade and LNM in tongue SCC. We found that the pixel-by-pixel TIC analysis approach allowed the detection of the internal heterogeneity of the whole tumor. Ratio of Type 2 TIC pattern would facilitate the distinction of SCCs with different histological grades and LNM status, implying its tremendous potential in tumors with high heterogeneity.