ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between cancer cellularity and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The subjects were 27 women who had undergone operation for breast cancer. There were 27 breast cancer lesions, 24 of which were invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and 3 of which were noninvasive ductal carcinoma (NIDC). RESULTS: The mean ADC values of IDC, NIDC, and normal breasts were 1.07 +/- 0.19 .10(-3), 1.42 +/- 0.17 .10(-3), and 1.96 +/- 0.21 .10(-3) mm(2)/s, respectively. The mean ADC values of IDC and NIDC were significantly different from that of normal breasts (P < 0.001 each). The mean ADC values were also significantly different between IDC and NIDC (P < 0.001). There was no correlation between the ADC value and cancer cellularity. CONCLUSION: The mean ADC values for breast cancer were significantly different from that of normal breasts. The mean ADC value for breast cancer did not significantly correlate with cancer cellularity but did correlate with histological types.
Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/pathology , Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Neoplasm InvasivenessABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Breast cancer-detecting ability of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) was investigated by comparing the breast cancer detection rates of DW-MRI and mammography (MMG). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The subjects were 48 women who had breast cancer (53 cancer lesions) who underwent DW-MRI before surgery. Altogether, 41 lesions were invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), 7 were noninvasive ductal carcinoma (NIDC) and 5 were "others." RESULTS: The breast cancer detection rates by MMG and DW-MRI were 84.9% and 94.3% (P < 0.001), respectively. In each classification of histology and size, the detection rate by DW-MRI was higher than that by MMG. In relation to the mammary gland density, the detection rates of fatty, scattered, heterogeneously dense, and extremely dense mammary glands were 100%, 100%, 92.0%, and 83.3%, respectively. The mean apparent diffusion coefficient values of the histologic types were 1.07 +/- 0.17 x 10(-3), 1.50 +/- 0.24 x 10(-3), 1.12 +/- 0.25 x 10(-3), and 2.01 +/- 0.29 x 10(-3) mm(2)/s for IDC, NIDC, others, and normal breast, respectively, showing that the values of IDC and NIDC were significantly different from that of the normal breast (P < 0.001 each). A significant difference was also noted between IDC and NIDC (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: DW-MRI may be useful for detecting breast cancer in a wide age group of women, including young women with dense mammary glands.
