ROLE OF DWI MRI AS A RECENT MODALITY IN DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN BENIGN FROM MALIGNANT OVARIAN TUMORS

Abstract

etermining whether a clinically diagnosed adnexal mass is benign or malignant is frequently not possible until surgical exploration and histologic examination are performed. Consequently, it may not be possible to decide preoperatively whether conservative or radical surgery is appropriate. Areliable method with which to differentiate a benign from a malignant adnexal mass would provide a basis for optimal preoperative planning. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging provides useful information for characterization of various ovarian masses. MRI can reveal morphologic characteristics such as papillary projections, nodularity, septa, solid portions and signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted images, but none of these criteria reliably distinguish between benign and malignant tumors. Diffusion-weighted imaging is sensitive to changes in the micro-diffusion of water into both intracellular and extracellular spaces and its use may improve MR characterization of ovarian lesions.