Intravoxel incoherent motion and diffusion kurtosis imaging and their machine-learning-based texture analysis for...

To evaluate the role of combined intravoxel incoherent motion and diffusion kurtosis imaging (IVIM-DKI) and their machine-learning-based texture analysis for the detection and assessment of severity in prostate cancer (PCa).

Eighty-eight patients underwent MRI on a 3 T scanner after giving informed consent. IVIM-DKI data were acquired using 13 b values (0-2000 s/mm²) and analyzed using the IVIM-DKI model with the total variation (TV) method. PCa patients were categorized into two groups: clinically insignificant prostate cancer (CISPCa) (Gleason grade ≤ 6) and clinically significant prostate cancer (CSPCa) (Gleason grade ≥ 7). One-way analysis-of-variance, t test, and receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to measure the discriminative ability to detect PCa using IVIM-DKI parameters. A chi-square test was used to select important texture features of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and IVIM-DKI parameters. These selected texture features were used in an artificial neural network for PCa detection.

ADC and diffusion coefficient (D) were significantly lower (p < 0.001), and kurtosis (k) was significantly higher (p < 0.001), in PCa as compared with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and normal peripheral zone (PZ). ADC, D, and k showed high areas under the curves (AUCs) of 0.92, 0.89, and 0.88, respectively, in PCa detection. ADC and D were significantly lower (p < 0.05) as compared with CISPCa versus CSPCa. D for detecting CSPCa was high, with an AUC of 0.63. A negative correlation of ADC and D with GS (ADC, ρ = -0.33; D, ρ = -0.35, p < 0.05) and a positive correlation of k with GS (ρ = 0.22, p < 0.05) were observed. Combined IVIM-DKI texture showed high AUC of 0.83 for classification of PCa, BPH, and normal PZ.

D, f, and k computed using the IVIM-DKI model with the TV method were able to differentiate PCa from BPH and normal PZ. Texture features of combined IVIM-DKI parameters showed high accuracy and AUC in PCa detection.