Reduced-Dose Full-Body CT in Lymphoma Follow-up: A Pilot Study

Renjun Huang; Jiulong Yan; Hongzhi Geng; Qiuyu Yu; Zongqiong Sun; Wenyan Liu; Ling Zhang; Caixia Li; Yonggang Li

doi:10.2174/1573405618666220516123155

Reduced-Dose Full-Body CT in Lymphoma Follow-up: A Pilot Study

Curr Med Imaging. 2022;19(1):77-90. doi: 10.2174/1573405618666220516123155.

Authors

Renjun Huang¹, Jiulong Yan¹, Hongzhi Geng², Qiuyu Yu¹, Zongqiong Sun¹, Wenyan Liu¹, Ling Zhang^{3

4

5}, Caixia Li^{2

6}, Yonggang Li^{1

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province 215000, P.R. China.
² Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province 215000, P.R. China.
³ Department of Radiology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province 510060, P.R. China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South Chinal, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province 510060, P.R. China.
⁵ Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province 510060, P.R. China.
⁶ National Clinical Research Center for Hematologic Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province 215000, P.R. China.
⁷ Institute of Medical Imaging, Soochow University, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province 215000, P.R. China.

PMID: 35578866
DOI: 10.2174/1573405618666220516123155

Abstract

Background: How to reduce the radiation dose received from full-body CT scans during the follow-up of lymphoma patients is a concern.

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the image quality and radiation dose of reduced-dose full-body computerized tomography (CT) in lymphoma patients during the follow-up.

Methods: 121 patients were included and divided into conventional CT group (group 1, 120-kVp, n = 61) or reduced-dose CT group (group 2, 100-kVp combined dual-energy CT (DECT), n = 60). 140-kVp polychromatic images and 70-keV monochromatic images were reconstructed from DECT. The abdominal virtual non-enhanced (VNE) images were reconstructed from monochromatic images. Two radiologists rated the overall image quality with a five-point scale and graded the depiction of lesions using a four-point scale. The objective image quality was evaluated using image noise, signal-to-noise ratio, and contrast-to-noise ratio. The radiation dose and image quality were compared between the groups.

Results: The comparable subjective image quality was observed between 70-keV and 120-kVp images in the neck, while 120-kVp images showed better objective image quality. 70-keV images showed better objective image quality in the chest. While the subjective image quality of abdominal VNE images was inferior to that of true non-enhanced images, the improved objective image quality was observed in VNE images. In the abdominal arterial phase, similar subjective image quality was observed between the groups. Abdominal 70-keV images in the arterial phase showed improved objective image quality. Similar image quality was obtained in the abdominal venous phase between the groups. The effective radiation dose in group 2 showed a significant reduction.

Conclusion: The application of reduced-dose full-body CT can significantly reduce the radiation dose for lymphoma patients during the follow-up while maintaining or improving the image quality.

Keywords: Tomography; X-ray computed; dual-energy; image quality; lymphoma; radiation dose.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Humans
Lymphoma* / diagnostic imaging
Pilot Projects
Radiation Dosage
Signal-To-Noise Ratio
Tomography, X-Ray Computed* / methods