Differentiation Between Malignant and Benign Cervical Tissue on the Basis of the Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Is Sensitive and Independent of the B-Value Combination Used for ADC Calculation.

Jaap Hoogendam¹, Wenche Margrethe Klerkx², Gerard de Kort¹, Ronald Zweemer¹, Willem Mali¹, Wouter Veldhuis¹

In diffusion weighted imaging a variety of b-value combinations is used to calculate apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) for malignancy discrimination. We scanned 35 patients with cervical cancer at 3T and investigated three b-value combinations used in the literature (b=0,1000 vs 0,150,500,1000 vs 150,500,1000 s/mm2) for their influence on ADC and the ability to identify cervical malignancies. Results show a significantly lower ADC in cervical malignancies compared to benign cervical tissue. A high sensitivity and specificity (all over 90%) was found at all optimal ADC cut-off values, independent of the b-value combination used to calculate ADC.