Evaluation of ovarian cancer: Initial application of coregistered photoacoustic tomography and US

Purpose: To assess transvaginal coregistered photoacoustic tomography (PAT) and pulse-echo US for diagnosis of ovarian cancer based on functional parameters provided by PAT. Materials and Methods: Between February 2017 and December 2017, 26 ovarian masses from 16 participants were successfully imaged in vivo by multispectral photoacoustic imaging, including nine invasive epithelial ovarian cancers (six serous carcinomas and three endometroid adenocarcinomas), three other tumors (two borderline serous tumors and one sex cord–stromal tumor), and 14 benign and normal (hereafter referred to as benign/normal) ovaries. The relative total hemoglobin concentration (rHbT) and mean oxygen saturation (sO₂) shown at PAT were used to characterize the ovaries identified at US. Results: The average rHbT was 1.9 times higher for invasive epithelial cancers than for the benign/normal ovaries (P = .01). Additionally, the rHbT distribution was extensive in invasive epithelial cancers, but was scattered in benign/normal ovaries. However, the rHbT of two borderline serous tumors and one stromal tumor was in the same range as that of benign/normal ovaries. The mean sO₂ of invasive epithelial cancers, and of the borderline and stromal tumors, was 8.2% lower than that of benign/ normal ovaries (P = .003). Discussion: Invasive epithelial ovarian cancers showed higher and extensive tumor vascularity and lower oxygen saturation than benign and normal ovaries. Two borderline noninvasive serous and one stromal tumor showed low oxygen saturation compared with benign and normal ovaries.