Clinical usefulness of three-dimensional computer graphics in the gynecological field

The present study was performed to evaluate the clinical utility of 3-dimensional (3-D) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The subjects were 21 patients with uterine cervical cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by irradiation. T1- and T2-weighted images were obtained at every cycle of chemotherapy and during irradiation. Uterine marginal lines were extracted on MRI, 3-D MRI images were obtained after image processing, and the volume of uterine and tumor volume were calculated. Uterine volume, as calculated by TRI system, was 111.47±32.22 ml before treatment, 77.97±23.23 ml after completion of one cycle, 70.12±20.41 ml after completion of two cycles, 63.69±51.29 ml after completion of three cycles, and 51.29±15.5 ml after irradiation. Tumor volume was 60.18±28.02 ml before treatment, 26.68±15.29 ml after completion of one cycle, 18.82±13.77 ml after completion of two cycles, and 12.39±8.64 ml after completion of three cycles. Tumor disappeared after irradiation. Because positioning adjustment requires much time in 3-D calculations, automatic reading of MRI information and automatic processing function seemed to be necessary. 3-D MRI was useful for evaluating efficacy of chemotherapy and radiotherapy for uterine cervical cancer. (N.K.)