HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Pereira, F. P. A. Articles by Gasparetto, E. L. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Pereira, F. P. A. Articles by Gasparetto, E. L. Social Bookmarking                      What's this? Hotlight (NEW!) What's Hotlight?

Assessment of Breast Lesions With Diffusion-Weighted MRI: Comparing the Use of Different b Values

¹ Clínica de Diagnóstico Por Imagem, Rua Ataulfo de Paiva, 669, 2nd floor, Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil, 22649-900.
² Multi-imagem Ressonância, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
³ Department of Radiology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
⁴ GE Healthcare, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

OBJECTIVE. Our purpose was to study the utility of diffusion-weighted MRI in differentiating benign from malignant breast lesions by assessing the best b values.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Forty-five women (mean age, 46.1 years) with 52 focal mass breast lesions underwent diffusion-weighted imaging with different b values. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value of each lesion was calculated from the ADC maps done using five b values (0, 250, 500, 750, and 1,000 s/mm²) and using b values of 0 s/mm² with each other b value separately (0 and 250 s/mm², 0 and 500 s/mm², 0 and 750 s/mm², 0 and 1,000 s/mm²). The mean ADC values were correlated with imaging findings and histopathologic diagnoses. The cutoff ADC value, sensitivity, and specificity of diffusion-weighted imaging to differentiate benign and malignant lesions were calculated in all b value combinations. A p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS. The mean ADC value was significantly lower for malignant lesions compared to benign lesions (p < 0.0001) in all b value combinations. No statistical difference was seen between the ADC obtained from different b value combinations (p = 0.2581) in the differentiation between benign and malignant lesions. The ADC calculated from b 0 and 750 s/mm² was slightly better than the other b value combinations, showing a sensitivity of 92.3% and a specificity of 96.2%.

CONCLUSION. Diffusion-weighted imaging is a potential resource as a coadjutant of MRI in the differentiation between benign and malignant lesions. Such imaging can be performed without a significant increase in examination time, especially because it can be done with lower b values.

Keywords: breast cancer • b values • diffusion-weighted imaging • MRI

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?