PET/MR-derived parameters for predicting p53 status in hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: a preliminary study

Abstract Objectives The aim of this study was to explore whether PET/MR-derived parameters would classify hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HSCC) by p53 status. Methods Patients with HSCC were prospectively enrolled and underwent neck integrated PET/MR imaging. Patients were classified into p53-mutated group and non-p53-mutated group based on P53 immunohistochemistry. PET/MR-derived parameters were measured by two evaluators and then compared using Mann-Whitney U nonparametric test. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and areas under the curve (AUCs) were used to determine the efficacies of those parameters with statistical differences for predicting p53 status in HSCC. P < 0.05 was statistically significant. Results This study enrolled 21 patients with biopsy-proven HSCC (p53-mutated group [n = 12], non-p53-mutated group [n = 9]). Good-excellent interobserver agreement for measurements was observed with intraclass correlation coefffcients (ICCs) ranging from 0.844 to 0.999. Statistically significant differences were observed in maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and minimal apparent diffusion coefficient value (ADCmin) between two groups. AUCs for SUVmax and ADCmin were 0.787 and 0.801, respectively. The combined use of both yielded a maximum AUC of 0.898. Conclusions SUVmax and ADCmin can serve as independent biomarkers to predict p53 status in HSCC. Furthermore, SUVmax combined ADCmin holds promise for improved predictive performance. Advances in knowledge SUVmax and ADCmin derived from PET/MR show promise in predicting p53 status in HSCC.