The Role of Diffusion Weighted MRI in Evaluation of Breast Cancer

Abstract

So use of DWI as a diagnostic tool can increase the specificity of breast MR imaging and can reduce the number of false-positive results and associated unnecessary biopsies. In addition, DWI can be performed without significantly increasing examination time. Furthermore, novel applications for DWI are under development, including monitoring of the response to neo adjuvant chemotherapy. The chemotherapy causes cell lysis that leads to increase in the extracellular water and so increase in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). In this study, DWI had a high sensitivity and specificity with ADC cut off value 1.3This value was specificandsensitive parameter in differentiating benign and malignant breast lesions. It is recommendedto add DWI to the MRI sequences to improve its specificity and it can be used alone combined with T2WI for cases in whom contrast agent could not be given.