Abstract:

Objective To explore the diagnostic value of MRI combined with serum allograft inflammatory factor-1 （AIF-1） and N-myc downstream regulated gene 4 （NDRG4） for cervical cancer. Methods A total of 108 patients with primary cervical cancer admitted at People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from May 2022 to October 2024 were considered as study objects （cervical cancer group）， among which 67 cases were in stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ according to FIGO classification and 41 cases were in stage Ⅲ. In addition， 175 patients who underwent MRI at the same time and were diagnosed as having cervical benign cervical lesions through pathological checkups were included （cervical benign lesion group）. A total of 108 healthy individuals who underwent the same-time physical examination were enrolled （normal cervical group）. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure the serum levels of AIF-1 and NDRG4 in each group and in patients with different FIGO stages of cervical cancer. The receiver operator characteristic curve was used to evaluate the value of MRI， AIF-1， NDRG4 and their combination in the diagnosis of cervical cancer. Results The serum AIF-1 levels of the normal cervical group， the cervical benign lesion group， and the cervical cancer group were （122.75±23.69）， （183.50±28.33）， and （212.73±36.14） pg/ml， respectively， with a statistically significant difference （F=263.60， P<0.001）， and the AIF-1 levels increased successively （both P<0.05）. The serum NDRG4 levels of the 3 groups were （134.25±12.33）， （97.48±10.95）， and （86.62±10.27） pg/ml， respectively， with a statistically significant difference （F=581.83， P<0.001）， and the NDRG4 levels decreased successively （both P<0.05）. The serum AIF-1 levels of FIGO stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ， stage Ⅲ cervical cancer patients were （200.35±34.14） and （232.96±36.22） pg/ml， the serum NDRG4 levels of the 2 groups were （91.73±9.21） and （78.26±8.93） pg/ml， with statistically significant differences （t=4.71， P<0.001； t=7.46， P<0.001）. The area under the curve （AUC） for the individual diagnosis of cervical cancer by MRI， AIF-1， and NDRG4 was 0.78， 0.76， and 0.76， respectively. The AUC for the combined diagnosis of the three was 0.85. The diagnostic value of the combined diagnosis was higher than that of MRI， AIF-1， and NDRG4 alone （Z=2.98， P=0.015； Z=3.83， P<0.001； Z=3.83， P<0.001）. Conclusions MRI combined with serum AIF-1 and NDRG4 has higher diagnostic value for cervical cancer.

Key words: Uterine cervical neoplasms, Magnetic resonance imaging, Diagnosis, Allograft inflammatory factor-1, N-myc downstream regulated gene 4