Investigation on the Correlation Between the DWI Apparent Diffusion Coefficient and the FDG-PET/CT Standardized Uptake Value in Patients with Lymphoma

Thomas Kwee¹, Henritte Quarles van Ufford¹, Malou Vermoolen¹, Frederik Beek¹, Rob Fijnheer², Willem Mali¹, John de Klerk³, Rutger-Jan Nievelstein¹

This study aimed to assess the correlation between the ADC and the FDG-PET/CT SUV in lymphoma. Although no correlation was found between the ADCmean and the SUVmax, there was a trend towards a mild negative correlation between the ADCmin and the SUVmax. This can be explained by the fact that the ADCmin better represents the area of lowest cellular density than the ADCmean; thus, lymphomas with higher cellularity tend to have higher glucose metabolism. Further studies are required to investigate the complementary roles of these DWI and FDG-PET/CT metrics with respect to tumor grading and assessment of response to therapy.