Diagnostic value of apparent diffusion coefficient measurements in differentiating between benign and malignant glioma tumors

Background: Benign and malignant glioma tumors could not be differentiated in MRIimages. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements can create contrast betweenthese tumors. We aimed to quantify the differences between the ADC values of benign andmalignant Glioma tumors.Materials and Methods: MRI diffusion weighted images and pathologic findings of 56patients with glioma tumors (benign=28 and malignant=28) were used to measure the ADCvalues in tumor center, edema, boundary area between tumor with normal tissue and insidehealthy hemisphere. These values were compared between the malignant and benign tumorsusing the receiver operating characteristic curve.Results: The ADC of tumor center and edema had significant differences between malignantand benign tumors (P-value<0.005). The ADC values in boundary areas and inside healthyhemisphere did not showed significant differences. The ADC of tumor center and edemahigher than 1.12×10-3 mm2/s (sensitivity=100%; specificity=96%) and 1.15×10-3 mm²/s(sensitivity=75%; specificity=64%) respectively, could be classified as benign and lowervalues could be classified as malignant tumors.Conclusion: The ADC values could be used as an appropriate method for differentiatingbetween the malignant and benign glioma tumors. The cut-off values founded in our studycould be a subject for future studies.

Keywords:

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) , apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) , Glioma , Benign , Malignant