Application value of amide proton transfer imaging in differentiating benign, intermediate and malignant bone and soft tissue tumors

Abstract

Motivation: Current imaging methods for detecting tumor protein content are immature, thereby limiting early diagnosis, qualitative assessment, and post-treatment evaluation. Goal(s): Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has contributed significantly to improvement in the management of bone and soft tissue tumors. However, the use of MRI based amide proton transfer (APT) technique to diagnose bone and soft tissue tumors remain less explored. Approach: We use APT imaging to distinguish benign, intermediate and malignant bone and soft tissue tumors. Results: APT value was different in benign, intermediate and malignant tumors. There is high sensitivity and specificity for the qualitative diagnosis of bone and soft tissue tumors. Impact: APT imaging can provide diagnostic basis for the qualitative diagnosis of bone and soft tissue tumors. However, this imaging method is interfered by many factors. Whether tumors of different tissue sources have different APT characteristics needs further study.