Magnetic resonance imaging in the planning and monitoring of the treatment of cervical cancer

Solopova A.E., Bendzhenova B.B.

1) Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Centre for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia; 2) Botkin City Clinical Hospital, Moscow Healthcare Department, Moscow, Russia

Cervical cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer morbidity and mortality among the female population worldwide. The prognosis as well as the choice of therapy depends on the initial assessment of the extent of the tumor spread. The latter is mainly determined with the use of methods of radiologic diagnostics: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography and multispiral computed tomography. These methods also play one of the leading roles in assessing the treatment response. The updated classification of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO, 2018) recognizes the value of imaging in cervical cancer, in particular MRI, before, during and after antitumor treatment. The development of medical imaging and the search for new biomarkers will increase the prognostic value in assessing the response to therapy, identifying residual tumors and relapse of the disease.
This review presents the relevant information on the possibilities and limitations, the place of MRI in the complex diagnostic algorithm at the stage of primary assessment of the tumor process, the choice of tactics and analysis of the effectiveness of cervical cancer treatment. Different data bases, including PubMed/MEDLINE, eLibrary, Scopus, NCCN, ESUR, ACR, were searched. We analyzed the studies results on the use of noninvasive imaging techniques at the stage of primary diagnosis, assessing the effectiveness of treatment and its prognosis in patients with cervical cancer. The diagnostic opportunities and limitations of MRI in the cervical cancer diagnosis are summarized in our review. Due to the high soft tissue contrast, MRI is the method of choice in assessing the response to therapy, predicting treatment and further monitoring.
Conclusion: Noninvasive imaging plays a leading role in the primary diagnosis of cervical cancer. Further research is needed to overcome the difficulties of staging, monitoring the response to therapy and detecting relapse of the disease.

Authors’ contributions: Solopova A.E. – developing the concept of the study; Solopova A.E., Bendzhenova B.B. – collecting and analyzing sources, writing, editing the text of the article.
Conflicts of interest: Authors declare lack of the possible conflicts of interests.
Funding: The study was carried out as a part of the Russian Science Foundation grant “Development of technology for objective assessment of the potential of tumor progression in cervical cancer for proposing new approaches to investigate individual pathogenetic mechanisms of therapeutic resistance by using quantitative imaging methods, a search for signs of therapeutic effectiveness based on mathematical modeling of real-life clinical data” (No. 23-25-00445 dated of 24.01.2023).
For citation: Solopova A.E., Bendzhenova B.B. Magnetic resonance imaging 
in the planning and monitoring of the treatment of cervical cancer.
Akusherstvo i Ginekologiya/Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2023; (12): 47-58 (in Russian)
https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2023.253

Keywords

cervical cancer
magnetic resonance imaging
treatment effectiveness
prognosis of response to therapy

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Received 08.11.2023

Accepted 12.12.2023

About the Authors

Alina E. Solopova, Dr. Med. Sci., Leading Researcher, Radiology Department, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia; Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatal Medicine, Sechenov University, Ministry of Health of Russia, dr.solopova@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4768-115X, Scopus Author ID: 24460923200. Researcher ID: P-8659-2015, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Ac. Oparin str., 4.
Bova B. Bendzhenova, MD, obstetrician-gynecologist, Gynecological Department, Botkin City Clinical Hospital, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4768-115X,
125284, Russia, Moscow, 2nd Botkinsky pr., 5.
Corresponding author: Alina E. Solopova, dr.solopova@mail.ru

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