Intravoxel incoherent motion MR imaging for breast lesions: comparison and correlation with pharmacokinetic evaluation from dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging

Abstract

Objectives: To compare diagnostic performance for breast lesions by quantitative parameters derived from intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to explore whether correlations exist between these parameters.

Methods: IVIM and DCE MRI were performed on a 1.5-T MRI scanner in patients with suspicious breast lesions. Thirty-six breast cancers and 23 benign lesions were included in the study. Quantitative parameters from IVIM (D, f and D*) and DCE MRI (K^trans, K_ep, V_e and V_p) were calculated and compared between malignant and benign lesions. Spearman correlation test was used to evaluate correlations between them.

Results: D, f, D* from IVIM and K^trans, K_ep, V_p from DCE MRI were statistically different between breast cancers and benign lesions (p < 0.05, respectively) and D demonstrated the largest area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC = 0.917) and had the highest specificity (83 %). The f value was moderately statistically correlated with V_p (r = 0.692) and had a poor correlation with K^trans (r = 0.456).

Conclusions: IVIM MRI is useful in the differentiation of breast lesions. Significant correlations were found between perfusion-related parameters from IVIM and DCE MRI. IVIM may be a useful adjunctive tool to standard MRI in diagnosing breast cancer.

Key points: • IVIM provided diffusion as well as perfusion information • IVIM could help differential diagnosis of breast lesions • Correlations were found between perfusion-related parameters from IVIM and DCE MRI.

Keywords: Breast neoplasm; DCE MRI; Diffusion-weighted imaging; Intravoxel incoherent motion; Magnetic resonance imaging.