Purpose: To assess the utility of texture analysis of liver computed tomographic (CT) images by determining the effect of acquisition parameters on texture and by comparing the abilities of texture analysis and hepatic perfusion CT to help predict survival for patients with colorectal cancer.
Materials and Methods: The study comprised a phantom test and a clinical evalua- tion of 48 patients with colorectal cancer who had con�sented to retrospective analysis of hepatic perfusion CT data acquired during a research study approved by the institutional review board. Both components involved tex�ture analysis to quantify the relative contribution of CT features between 2 and 12 pixels wide to overall image brightness and uniformity. The effect of acquisition factors on texture was assessed on CT images of a cylindric phan�tom filled with water obtained by using tube currents be�tween 100 and 250 mAs and voltages between 80 and 140 kVp. Texture on apparently normal portal phase CT im�ages of the liver and hepatic perfusion parameters were related to patient survival by using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.
Results: A texture parameter that compared the uniformity of dis�tribution of CT image features 10 and 12 pixels wide exhibited the least variability with CT acquisition parame�ters (maximum coefficient of variation, 2.6%) and was the best predictor of patient survival (P
Conclusion: The study provides preliminary evidence that analysis of liver texture on portal phase CT images is potentially a superior predictor of survival for patients with colorectal cancer than CT perfusion imaging.