Diffusion weighted MRI in the characterization of solitary breast mass

MRI is becoming an essential tool for assessment of breast pathology. Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) provides quantitative and qualitative information reflecting the changes in tissue cellularity and integrity of cell membranes.ObjectiveTo assess the diagnostic importance of ADC numerical value and ratio in the differentiation between benign and malignant breast masses.Patients and methodsThe study included 37 patients with solitary solid breast mass. DWI was acquired at b-value 0–600. ADC value and ADC ratio were calculated and the values were correlated to histopathology.ResultsSixteen out of 37 detected masses were malignant and 21 were benign. Malignant lesions showed lower ADC values than benign lesions. The ROC study revealed that a cutoff ADC value of 1.175 × 10−3 mm2/s had high sensitivity of 95.2% and specificity of 93.8% in the differentiation between benign and malignant breast lesions. Malignant lesions showed lower ADC ratio than benign lesions. A cutoff value for ADC ratio of 0.9 had moderate sensitivity of 73.7% and high specificity of 100% in the differentiation between benign and malignant lesions.ConclusionDWI can differentiate between benign and malignant breast lesions with high sensitivity and specificity.