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Characterization of breast lesions using diffusion kurtosis model-based imaging: An initial experience.
Wei-Ping Zhou1, Xing-You Zan2, Xiao-Yun Hu1
1Department of Radiology, Wuxi People's Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu, China.
Journal of X-Ray Science and Technology
|December 10, 2019
Summary
Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) parameters, specifically mean diffusivity (MD), significantly improve breast lesion characterization compared to conventional apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) imaging. DKI offers higher diagnostic accuracy for differentiating malignant from benign breast lesions.
Area of Science:
- Radiology and Imaging Science
- Oncology and Cancer Research
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Accurate characterization of breast lesions is crucial for timely diagnosis and treatment planning.
- Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) provides valuable information about tissue microstructure.
- Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) offers advanced insights beyond conventional DWI metrics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) parameters in characterizing breast lesions.
- To compare the diagnostic performance of DKI-derived metrics (mean kurtosis [MK] and mean diffusivity [MD]) with conventional apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in differentiating malignant from benign breast lesions.
- To assess the utility of DKI in classifying different histological subtypes of breast cancer.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study involving 120 patients undergoing preoperative DCE-MRI and multi-b-value DWI.
- Analysis of conventional ADC, DKI-derived MK and MD parameters.
- Statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to compare lesion types and histological subtypes.
Main Results:
- Malignant lesions exhibited significantly lower ADC and MD, and higher MK compared to benign lesions and normal fibroglandular tissue (P < 0.001).
- Mean diffusivity (MD) demonstrated the highest area under the ROC curve (AUC = 0.936) for diagnosing malignant lesions, outperforming MK (AUC = 0.911) and ADC (AUC = 0.897).
- DKI parameters showed significant differences across various breast cancer subtypes, including invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) (P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
- Diffusion kurtosis imaging parameters, particularly MD, enhance the characterization of breast lesions.
- DKI demonstrates significant diagnostic potential in differentiating malignant from benign breast lesions.
- DKI parameters are valuable for classifying different pathological subtypes of breast cancers.
