The value of three-dimensional amide proton transfer-weighted imaging and its combination with diffusion weighted imaging in diagnosing breast benign and malignant lesions / 中华放射学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of three-dimensional amide proton transfer-weighted imaging (APTWI) and its combination with diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) for differentiating breast benign from malignant lesions.Methods:This was a prospective study. From July to December 2020, 226 patients with breast lesions confirmed by surgery or puncture pathology in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University were collected. All patients underwent MR T 1-weighted imaging, T 2-weighted imaging, DWI, APTWI, and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI, and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value and the magnetization transfer ratio asymmetry at an offset of 3.5 ppm [MTRasym(3.5 ppm)] were obtained from DWI and APTWI respectively. Mann-Whitney U test was used for the comparison of DWI and APTWI parameters between breast benign and malignant lesions. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the differences of diagnostic efficacy between DWI, APTWI, and their combination. Results:There were 226 patients with 226 breast lesions, including 124 malignant and 102 benign lesions. The ADC values of patients with malignant breast lesions [1.03 (0.93, 1.13)×10 -3 mm 2/s] and MTRasym (3.5 ppm) [1.95% (1.10%, 2.88%)] were lower than those of benign breast lesions [1.38 (1.11, 1.55)×10 -3 mm 2/s, 3.30% (2.20%, 4.20%), respectively], and the differences were statistically significant ( Z=-8.19, -6.51, P<0.05). The area under the ROC curves (AUC) of DWI, APTWI, and its combination in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast lesions were 0.817, 0.752, and 0.868, respectively. The AUC of the combination of DWI and APTWI was higher than that of DWI and APTWI ( Z=4.00, 2.93, P<0.05), and there was no significant difference in the AUC between DWI and APTWI diagnoses ( Z=1.58, P>0.05). Taking 1.25×10 -3 mm 2/s as the optimal cut-off value for ADC values, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in differentiating benign from malignant breast lesions were 94.4% (117/124), 62.7% (64/102), and 80.1% (181/226), respectively; Taking 2.70% as the optimal cut-off value for MTRasym (3.5 ppm), the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in differentiating benign from malignant breast lesions were 73.4% (91/124), 64.7% (66/102), and 69.5% (157/226), respectively, and the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of DWI combined with APTWI in differentiating benign from malignant breast lesions were 82.3% (102/124), 79.4% (81/102), and 81.0% (183/226), respectively. Conclusion:APTWI can be used for the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast lesions, and the combination of APTWI and DWI can obtain the better diagnostic performance than the single method.