Makoto Yamamoto, Tetsuya Tsujikawa, Hidehiko Okazawa and Yoshio Yoshida*
Uterine sarcoma is a relatively rare malignancy that accounts for approximately 3% - 7% of malignant uterine tumors, and that is associated with a poor prognosis. There have been many attempts to identify predictors of outcomes for patients with uterine sarcoma. However, the rarity of uterine sarcoma makes it challenging to study. It is essential to establish for new prognostic tool for effective treatment development. In the case of uterine sarcomas, the level of tumor 18F - fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake is reflective of tumor grade or aggressiveness determined by standard histopathology. However, there is more information in the spatial and quantitative data generated in the standard clinical FDG - PET image. We hypothesized that heterogeneity in tumor metabolism recorded by new image-analysis statistical tool, texture analysis, designed to report tumor heterogeneity in FDG uptake is reflective of tumor biologic heterogeneity and could be used as a biomarker to predict patient outcome.
