CT-morphologic and CT-textural patterns of response in inoperable soft tissue sarcomas treated with pazopanib—a preliminary retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Objective:

To analyze patterns of response in soft tissue sarcomas exposed to pazopanib using CT-morphologic and textural features and their suitability for evaluating therapeutic response.

Methods:

Retrospective evaluation of CT response and texture patterns in 33 patients (23 female; mean age: 61.2 years, range, 30–85 years) with soft tissue sarcomas treated with pazopanib from October 2008 to July 2017. Response evaluation was based on modified (m)CHOI-criteria and RECISTv.1.1 and classified as partial response (PR), stable disease (SD), progressive disease (PD). The following CT-texture (CTTA)-parameters were calculated: mean, entropy and uniformity of intensity/average/skewness/entropy of co-occurrence matrix and contrast of neighboring-gray-level-dependence-matrix.

Results:

Following mCHOI-criteria, 12 patients achieved PR, 7 SD and 14 PD. As per RECISTv.1.1 9 patients obtained PR, 9 SD and 15 PD. Frequent patterns of response were tumor liquefaction and necrosis (n=4/33, 12.1% each). Further patterns included shrinkage and cavitation (n=2/33, 6.1% each). In responders, differences in mean heterogeneity (p=0.01), intensity (p=0.03), average (p=0.03) and entropy of skewness (p=0.01) were found at follow-up whereas in non-responders, CTTA-parameters did not change significantly. Baseline-CTTA-features differed between responders and non-responders in terms of uniformity of skewness (p=0.045). Baseline-CTTA-parameters did not correlate with any morphologic response pattern.

Conclusion:

Most frequent patterns of response to pazopanib were tumor liquefaction and necrosis. Single CT-textural features show strong association with the response to pazopanib —although limited in relation to specific response patterns.

Advances in knowledge:

Tumor liquefication and necrosis are important patterns of response to pazopanib. CT-texture analysis has limited associations with specific response patterns.