Meta analysis of lymph node metastasis of breast cancer patients: Clinical value of DWI and ADC value

ObjectivesTo evaluate the diagnostic utility of DWI in the assessment of node metastases and investigate whether the ADC value could be used to discriminate between metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes in breast cancer patients.Materials and methods13 studies with a total of 676 metastatic and 811 non-metastatic lymph nodes were included.Results(1) The pooled sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of DWI were 0.83, 0.82, 0.83 and 0.85, respectively. The PLR and NLR were 4.95 and 0.23, respectively. The AUC and Q* index were 0.91 and 0.85, respectively. (2) The ADC value of metastatic lymph nodes was lower than non-metastatic lymph nodes (WMD = −0.213, 95% CI −0.349 to −0.076, Z = 3.05, P < 0.05). (3) Subgroup meta-analysis of the group of b(0800): The pooled sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of DWI were 0.86, 0.86, 0.82 and 0.90, respectively. The PLR and NLR were 6.76 and 0.18, respectively. The AUC and Q* index were 0.93 and 0.87. The ADC value of metastatic lymph nodes was lower than non-metastatic lymph nodes(WMD = −0.267, 95% CI −0.348 to −0.185, Z = 6.40, P < 0.05).ConclusionsDWI and ADC value appear to be a reliable method to differentiate metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes. The combination of b = 0 and 800 s/mm2 resulted in higher diagnostic accuracy and more pronounced ADC value difference. If only a couple of b values are used, those of b = 0 and 800 s/mm2 are recommended.