Texture Analysis of T1-weighted and STIR Magnetic Resonance Images for Lewis Lung Carcinoma Nanotheranostics

Despite the advances in cancer nanotheranostics, there are limitations associated with targeted delivery to the tumor and objective image interpretation. This paper investigates the role of a magnetic nanocomplex (MNC) synthesized from gadopentetic acid and antitumor agent doxorubicin (DOX) as a theranostic system to improve antitumor activity under constant magnetic (CMFs) and electromagnetic fields (EMFs) as well as provide additional prognostic information on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in animals with Lewis lung carcinoma. Heterogeneity values in the tumor core were twice higher than those in the tumor periphery or the peritumoral tissue on both T1-weighted and short tau inversion recovery (STIR) images. Heterogeneity parameters extracted from the tumor core and periphery as well as the fractal dimension of the peritumoral tissue were significantly different between conventional DOX and MNC + CMF + EMF treatment $\boldsymbol{(\mathrm{p}\leq 0.05)}$ on STIR images. Tumor growth kinetics correlated negatively $\boldsymbol{(\mathrm{r}_{\mathrm{s}}=-0.89)}$ with the fractal dimension of the peritumoral tissue on MRI scans after DOX, while a strong positive correlation $\boldsymbol{(\mathrm{r}_{\mathrm{s}}=0.83)}$ was noted in animals receiving MNC + CMF + EMF $\boldsymbol{(\mathrm{p}\leq 0.05)}$ . Treatment response evaluation based on multifunctional MNCs can deepen our understanding of physicochemical interactions between the tumor and its microenvironment and drive personalized approaches for cancer nanotheranostics.