Optimization of MR diffusion-weighted imaging acquisitions for pancreatic cancer at 3.0 T

ObjectivesTo investigate and optimize diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) acquisitions for pancreatic cancer at 3.0 T.MethodsForty-five patients with pancreatic cancer were examined by four DWI acquisitions with b values = 0 and 600 s/mm2 at 3.0 T, including breath-holding DWI (BH-DWI), respiratory-triggered DWI (TRIG-DWI), respiratory-triggered DWI with inversion–recovery technique (TRIGIR-DWI), and free-breathing DWI with inversion–recovery technique (FBIR-DWI). Artifacts, contrast ratio (CR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of pancreatic cancer were statistically compared among DWI acquisitions.ResultsTRIGIR-DWI displayed the lowest artifacts and highest CR compared to other DWI acquisitions. CNRs of pancreatic cancer in TRIG-DWI and TRIGIR-DWI were statistically higher than that in FBIR-DWI and BH-DWI. Different ADCs between pancreatic cancer and noncancerous pancreatic tissues were noticed by a paired-samples T test in TRIG-DWI (p = 0.017), TRIGIR-DWI (p = 0.00001) and FBIR-DWI (p = 0.000041).ConclusionsTRIGIR-DWI may be the optimal acquisition of DWI for pancreatic cancer at 3.0 T.