Radiology: 3T MRI technologies better differentiate breast lesions
Diffusion-weighted (DW) imaging and glandular tissue–normalized apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) assessment can improve the characterization of breast lesions beyond the description provided by conventional 3D T1-weighted and dynamic contrast-enhanced 3T MRI, according to results of a study published in the July edition of Radiology.
The study evaluated the incremental value of DW imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) mapping in relation to conventional breast MRI for characterization of benign compared to malignant breast lesions with 3T MRI, explained lead author Riham H. El Khouli, MD, from the department of radiology and imaging sciences at the National Institutes of Health/Clinical Center and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering in Bethesda, Md.
Researchers recruited 93 of 550 consecutive patients who presented to the Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center in Baltimore between February and November 2008 for clinically indicated bilateral breast MR imaging for inclusion in the study. The 93 women with 101 lesions had undergone 3D high-spatial-resolution T1-weighted contrast material–enhanced MRI, dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI and DW imaging examinations at 3T and either had received a pathologic proven diagnosis (96 lesions) or had lesion stability confirmed at more than two years of follow-up (five lesions).
Of the 93 women, 41 were premenopausal, and 52 were postmenopausal. The authors determined that 33 of the 101 lesions were benign, and 68 were malignant.
“Normalized ADCs were significantly different between the benign and malignant lesions,” offered Khouli and colleagues, who noted that the addition of normalized ADCs to the 3D T1-weighted and dynamic contrast-enhanced MR data improved the diagnostic performance of MR imaging because there was less overlap between the benign and malignant breast lesions when normalized ADCs were used. In addition, the false positive rate was lowered from 36 percent to 24 percent with the addition of ADCs.
Moreover, there were no significant differences in the absolute or normalized ADCs of benign and malignant lesions between the pre- and postmenopausal women, according to the researchers.
“DW imaging with glandular tissue–normalized ADC mapping significantly improves the characterization of breast lesions beyond that achieved with conventional 3D T1-weighted and dynamic MR imaging at 3T,” wrote the authors.
Despite the study’s findings; however, Khouli referred to the small patient pool used for the research and stated that the results must be validated in a larger patient group.
The study evaluated the incremental value of DW imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) mapping in relation to conventional breast MRI for characterization of benign compared to malignant breast lesions with 3T MRI, explained lead author Riham H. El Khouli, MD, from the department of radiology and imaging sciences at the National Institutes of Health/Clinical Center and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering in Bethesda, Md.
Researchers recruited 93 of 550 consecutive patients who presented to the Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center in Baltimore between February and November 2008 for clinically indicated bilateral breast MR imaging for inclusion in the study. The 93 women with 101 lesions had undergone 3D high-spatial-resolution T1-weighted contrast material–enhanced MRI, dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI and DW imaging examinations at 3T and either had received a pathologic proven diagnosis (96 lesions) or had lesion stability confirmed at more than two years of follow-up (five lesions).
Of the 93 women, 41 were premenopausal, and 52 were postmenopausal. The authors determined that 33 of the 101 lesions were benign, and 68 were malignant.
“Normalized ADCs were significantly different between the benign and malignant lesions,” offered Khouli and colleagues, who noted that the addition of normalized ADCs to the 3D T1-weighted and dynamic contrast-enhanced MR data improved the diagnostic performance of MR imaging because there was less overlap between the benign and malignant breast lesions when normalized ADCs were used. In addition, the false positive rate was lowered from 36 percent to 24 percent with the addition of ADCs.
Moreover, there were no significant differences in the absolute or normalized ADCs of benign and malignant lesions between the pre- and postmenopausal women, according to the researchers.
“DW imaging with glandular tissue–normalized ADC mapping significantly improves the characterization of breast lesions beyond that achieved with conventional 3D T1-weighted and dynamic MR imaging at 3T,” wrote the authors.
Despite the study’s findings; however, Khouli referred to the small patient pool used for the research and stated that the results must be validated in a larger patient group.