Varshitha G R - Department of Radiodiagnosis, Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, SDUAHER, Tamaka, Kolar, Karnataka, India.
Anil Sakalecha - Department of Radiodiagnosis, Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, SDUAHER, Tamaka, Kolar, Karnataka, India.
Darshan A V - Department of Radiodiagnosis, Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, SDUAHER, Tamaka, Kolar, Karnataka, India.
Chaithanya A - Department of Radiodiagnosis, Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, SDUAHER, Tamaka, Kolar, Karnataka, India.

Introduction: The objective of this study is to assess the role of diffusion weighted (DW) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) along with its corresponding apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in differentiating malignant from benign breast lesions.Material and Methods: Patients with breast lesions and those who met inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in this study. MR Mammography (MRM) was performed on ۱.۵ Tesla MR Scanner (Siemens® Magnetom Avanto®). DWI was performed at b-values of ۵۰, ۴۰۰ and ۸۰۰ s/mm۲ followed by ADC sequence.Results: ۵۰ patients with a total of ۸۱ breast lesions and whose diagnosis was histopathologically confirmed following MRM were included in the study. We observed that benign lesions showed no restricted diffusion with an ADC value of >۱.۳ x ۱۰-۳ mm۲/s. Most of the malignant lesions showed restricted diffusion with ADC value of < ۱.۳ ۱۰-۳ mm۲/s. A non-malignant condition, Benign Phyllodes tumor (n=۱) showed no restricted diffusion but had a low ADC of ۱.۱ x ۱۰-۳ giving false positive result. Mucinous carcinomas (n=۵) showed no restricted diffusion and had a mean ADC value of >۱.۳ x ۱۰-۳. We observed sensitivity of DWI along with ADC value to be ۸۶.۸% and specificity as ۹۷.۶%.Conclusion: DW-MRI can be employed as a fast unenhanced screening modality for breast cancer with high sensitivity. Considering ADC values along with DW-MRI increased its detection rates and hence both can be incorporated as supplementary techniques in multiparametric MRM.

Breast Cancer Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mammography Diffusion, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Apparent Diffusion Coefficient