- Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI–Derived Intracellular Water Lifetime (τi): A Prognostic Marker for Patients with Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas
The authors evaluated 60 patients with dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging before treatment. Median, mean intracellular water molecule lifetime, and volume transfer constant values from metastatic nodes were computed from each patient. Kaplan-Meier analyses were performed to associate mean intracellular water molecule lifetime and volume transfer constant and their combination with overall survival and beyond. Patients with high mean intracellular water molecule lifetime had overall survival significantly prolonged by 5 years compared with those with low mean intracellular water molecule lifetime. Patients with high mean intracellular water molecule lifetime had significantly longer overall survival at long-term duration than those with low mean intracellular water molecule lifetime. Volume transfer constant was a significant predictor for only the 5-year follow-up period. They conclude that a combined analysis of mean intracellular water molecule lifetime and volume transfer constant provided the best model to predict overall survival in patients with squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck.