Role of Diffusion MRI in Evaluation of Renal Masses

Abstract

R enal masses are being discovered more frequently in the last decades due to advances in cross sectional imaging. CT and MR are used for better detection, characterization and staging of these masses. Accurate characterization of renal masses is essential to ensure appropriate case management and to assist in staging and prognosis and to differentiate surgical lesions from nonsurgical lesions. Diffusion-weighted Imaging (DWI) is a new imaging technique that derives image contrast from the differences in water molecule diffusion within tissues. Cellular tissues as tumors that exhibit the greatest degree of restricted diffusion are seen as areas of retained (bright) signal on high b-value images and show low signal intensity on the corresponding ADC map with low ADC value. DW MRI does not rely on intravenous contrast, so patients with renal failure who are at risk for nephrogenic systemic fibrosis or nephrotoxicity may particularly benefit from this technique in the evaluation for renal and upper urinary tract cancer in a noninvasive manner.  Summary & Conclusion Recent studies indicate that benign and cystic