Diffusion kurtosis imaging as a biomarker of breast cancer

Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) is a diffusion-weighted imaging method that describes non-Gaussian signal behavior using a relatively simple mathematical model. A parameter, kurtosis K, describes the deviation of the diffusion signal decay from a Gaussian pattern. The deviation reflects the complexity of the tissue microstructure affecting water diffusion. Several studies have investigated the diagnostic performance of DKI in distinguishing malignant from benign breast lesions. DKI has been reported to correlate with subtypes and with several molecular and other factors related to the treatment and prognosis of breast cancer. Some technical considerations remain to be resolved for the clinical application of DKI in the breast.

DKI, which increases the sensitivity to complex tissue microstructure compared to standard DWI, has been applied in the breast, allowing to increase clinical performance in distinguishing malignant from benign lesions and in predicting prognosis or treatment response in breast cancer.