Differentiation of clinically benign and malignant breast lesions using diffusion-weighted imaging

PURPOSE: To evaluate the value of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in distinguishing between benign and malignant breast lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-two female subjects (mean age = 58 years, age range = 25-75 years) with histopathologically proven breast lesions underwent DWI of the breasts with a single-shot echo-planar imaging (EPI) sequence using large b values. The computed mean apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of the breast lesions and cell density were then correlated. RESULTS: The ADCs varied substantially between benign breast lesions ((1.57 +/- 0.23) x 10(-3) mm(2)/second) and malignant breast lesions ((0.97 +/- 0.20) x 10(-3) mm(2)/second). In addition, the mean ADCs of the breast lesions correlated well with tumor cellularity (P < 0.01, r = -0.542). CONCLUSION: The ADC would be an effective parameter in distinguishing between malignant and benign breast lesions. Further, tumor cellularity has a significant influence on the ADCs obtained in both benign and malignant breast tumors.