The role of diffusion magnetic resonance imaging in evaluation of suspicious breast lesions

Abstract

ObjectiveThe aim was to evaluate the role of diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value measurement in differentiating benign from malignant breast lesions.BackgroundDW imaging is a potential resource as a coadjutant of MRI in the differentiation between benign and malignant lesions.Patients and methodsThis prospective study included 30 patients with suspicious breast lesions in mammography and/or ultrasound study from April 2017 to April 2018. Patients had undergone dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI and DW imaging before their biopsy. ADC value was calculated by placing region-of-interest over required area in DW-MRI at b value 1000 s/mm2. The sensitivity and specificity of DW-MRI were determined for comparison with histological results.ResultsThe study included 30 cases, where 21 were malignant and nine were benign. Significant results were obtained between ADC values of benign and malignant lesions (P < 0.001). The mean ADC for benign lesions was 1.10 × 10-3 mm2/s, whereas mean ADC for malignant lesions was 1.63 × 10-3 mm2/s. Cut-off level of ADC was 1.03 × 10-3 mm2/s. DW-MRI achieved a sensitivity of 62% and a specificity of 88% for differentiating benign and malignant lesions.ConclusionDW imaging is a potential resource as a coadjutant of MRI in the differentiation between benign and malignant breast lesions.