Role of Quantitative Diffusion-Weighted Imaging in Differentiating Benign and Malignant Orbital Masses

Aim  To determine the role of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in differentiating benign and malignant orbital masses. Materials and Methods  After obtaining institutional ethical board approval and informed consent from all patients, an observational study was done for a period of 24 months in the radiology department of a tertiary care hospital in South India. Conventional magnetic resonance imaging and DWI using a 3T scanner was done for all patients with suspected orbital mass lesion. ADC value and clinicohistopathological correlation were studied for every patient. Chi-square test was used to compare the signal characteristics of DWI and ADC maps between benign and malignant lesions. A comparison of mean ADC values for benign and malignant masses was performed using Student's t -test for independent samples. The cut-off value for ADC was obtained using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results  Of 44 patients with orbital lesions, 70% were benign and 30% were malignant. There was a significant difference in the mean ADC values of benign and malignant orbital masses. Using ROC curve analysis, an optimal ADC threshold of 1.26 × 10 ^-3 mm ² /s was calculated for the prediction of malignancy with 100% sensitivity, 80.65% specificity, and 86.36% accuracy (95% confidence interval: 0.872, 1.00, p < 0.0001). Two ADC thresholds were used to characterize the orbital masses with more than 90% confidence. Conclusion  Quantitative assessment of ADC is a useful noninvasive diagnostic tool for differentiating benign and malignant orbital masses. Malignant orbital lesions demonstrate significantly lower ADC values as compared with benign lesions.