Usefulness of diffusion-weighted imaging for differentiating between desmoid tumors and malignant soft tissue tumors

To evaluate the usefulness of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for differentiating between desmoid tumors and malignant soft tissue tumors.

Conventional MRI and DWI were performed for 8 desmoid tumors and 74 malignant soft tissue tumors. DWI was obtained with a single-shot echo-planar imaging sequence using a 1.5 Tesla (T) MR imager. DW images were acquired with motion-probing gradient pulses applied along three directions (x, y, and z axes) with three b-factors (0, 500, and 1000 s/mm²). Two observers blinded to clinical information measured three regions of interest within the solid tumor and selected a minimum apparent diffusion coefficient () in each lesion. The mean ADC of desmoid tumors was calculated and compared with that of malignant soft tissue tumors using the Mann-Whitney U test.

The mean ADC of desmoid tumors and malignant soft tissue tumors was 1.36 ± 0.48 × 10⁻³ mm² /s and 0.88 ± 0.20 × 10⁻³ mm² /s (mean ± SD), respectively. The mean ADC of the desmoid tumors was significantly higher than that of malignant soft tissue tumors (P < 0.01).

DWI is considered to be useful for differentiating between desmoid tumors and malignant soft tissue tumors. In the future, further investigation in a large series is necessary.