Texture analysis of T2-weighted MRI predicts SDH mutation in paraganglioma

Texture analysis can quantify sophisticated imaging characteristics. We hypothesized that 2D textures computed with T2-weighted and post-contrast T1-weighted MRI can predict succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) mutation status in head and neck paragangliomas. Our retrospective study included 21 patients (1 to 4 tumors/patient) with 24 pathologically proven paragangliomas in the head and neck. Fourteen lesions (58%) were SDH mutation-positive. All patients underwent T2-weighted and post-contrast T1-weighted MRI sequences. Three 2D texture features of dependence non-uniformity normalized (DNN), small dependence high gray level emphasis (SDHGLE), and small dependence low gray level emphasis (SDLGLE) were calculated. Computed textures between SDH mutants and non-mutants were compared using Mann-Whitney U test. Area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was used to quantify the predictive power of each texture. Only T2-based SDLGLE was statistically significant (p = 0.048), and AUROC was 0.71. Diagnostic accuracy was 70.8%. 2D texture parameter of T2-based SDLGLE predicts SDH mutation in head and neck paragangliomas. This noninvasive technique can potentially facilitate further genetic workup.