Differentiation of clinically benign and malignant breast lesions using diffusion-weighted imaging

• Published in: Journal of magnetic resonance imaging Vol. 16; no. 2; pp. 172 - 178
• Main Authors: Guo, Yong, Cai, You-Quan, Cai, Zu-Long, Gao, Yuan-Gui, An, Ning-Yu, Ma, Lin, Mahankali, Srikanth, Gao, Jia-Hong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.08.2002
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; apparent diffusion coefficient; breast neoplasm; breast neoplasm, diagnosis; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; diagnosis; Diagnosis, Differential; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; diffusion-weighted imaging; Female; Humans; magnetic resonance (MR); magnetic resonance (MR), diffusion‐weighted imaging; Middle Aged; pathology; tumor cellularity
• ISSN: 1053-1807; 1522-2586
• DOI: 10.1002/jmri.10140

Purpose To evaluate the value of diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI) in distinguishing between benign and malignant breast lesions. Materials and Methods Fifty‐two female subjects (mean age = 58 years, age range = 25–75 years) with histopathologically proven breast lesions underwent DWI of the breasts with a single‐shot echo‐planar imaging (EPI) sequence using large b values. The computed mean apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of the breast lesions and cell density were then correlated. Results The ADCs varied substantially between benign breast lesions ((1.57 ± 0.23) × 10−3 mm2/second) and malignant breast lesions ((0.97 ± 0.20) × 10−3 mm2/second). In addition, the mean ADCs of the breast lesions correlated well with tumor cellularity (P < 0.01, r = −0.542). Conclusion The ADC would be an effective parameter in distinguishing between malignant and benign breast lesions. Further, tumor cellularity has a significant influence on the ADCs obtained in both benign and malignant breast tumors. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2002;16:172–178. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.