Early response assessment after CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery for symptomatic vertebral hemangioma by quantitative parameters from dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI

Purpose The present study aimed to explore the value of DCE-MRI to evaluate the early efficacy of CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery in patients with symptomatic vertebral hemangioma (SVH). Methods A retrospective analysis of patients with spinal SVH who underwent CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery from January 2017 to August 2019 was performed. All patients underwent DCE-MRI before treatment and three months after treatment. The parameters included volume transfer constant (K-trans), transfer rate constant (K-ep), and extravascular extracellular space volume fraction (V-e). Results A total of 11 patients (11 lesions) were included. After treatment, six patients (54.5%) had a partial response, five patients (45.4%) had stable disease, and three patients (27.3%) presented with reossification. K-trans and K-ep decreased significantly in the third month after treatment (p = 0.003 and p = 0.026, respectively). Delta K-trans was -46.23% (range, -87.37 to -23.78%), and Delta K-ep was -36.18% (range, -85.62 to 94.40%). The change in V-e was not statistically significant (p = 0.213), and Delta V-e was -28.01% (range, -58.24 to 54.76%). Conclusion DCE-MRI parameters K-trans and K-ep change significantly after CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery for SVH. Thus, DCE-MRI may be of value in determining the early efficacy of CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery.

Automated summary

In this study, DCE-MRI was used to evaluate the early efficacy of CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery in patients with symptomatic vertebral hemangioma (SVH). The study found that parameters K-trans and K-ep changed significantly after treatment, indicating the potential value of DCE-MRI in assessing treatment efficacy.