ROLE OF DIFFUSION-WEIGHTED MR IMAGING IN THE EVALUATION OF OVARIAN TUMORS

Abstract

Background: Functional imaging is becoming increasingly important in the evaluation of cancer patients because of the limitations of morphologic imaging, particularly in the assessment of response to therapy. Recent technical advances allow the use of diffusion MR imaging in abdominal and pelvic applications after it has been established as a useful functional imaging tool in neurologic applications for a number of years. This study aims at reviewing and emphasizing the role of diffusion-weighted MR imaging in the diagnosis of ovarian tumors. Patients and Methods: This study was performed on 20 cases of ovarian tumors. The patients’ age ranged from 21 to 75 year old (mean age 44.35± 13.096 SD). Ten patients presented by abdominal enlargement, eight were complaining of long standing abdominal pain, one came complaining with frequency of micturition, dysuria, loss of weight and one was accidentally discovered during US examination. Results: This study included 20 ovarian tumors in 20 cases. The age in cases with benign tumors ranged from 23 to 62 years (mean age 44 +/- 18.576 SD). While the age in cases with malignant tumors; ranged from 21 to 75 years (mean age 47.5+/-14.3003SD). The tumors pathologically were classified into: (13 benign, 1 borderline and 6 malignant tumor). Conclusion: Ovarian tumors; are the second most common gynecological tumor and is the fifth commonest tumor in women. The combination of DWI to conventional MRI implies: using a completely noninvasive technique with no radiation exposure; DWI might be an alternative for contrast administration as during pregnancy; cost effective technique with no marked lengthening of examination time and it improves the specificity of MRI. Keywords: Ovarian cancer - Difussion Weighted Imaging - functional imaging.