Research Information System
JAREM, vol.14, no.1, pp.40-47, 2024 (ESCI)
Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the utility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and relative ADC (rADC) values in differentiating benign and malignant liver masses and retrospectively evaluate the diagnostic contribution of rADC values. Methods: We evaluated 92 focal liver lesions in 56 patients (27 females and 29 males) who were histopathologically diagnosed or did not increase in size on follow-up imaging. Diffusion-weighted images were acquired at two different b values (b=0 and b=800 s/mm2) and mean ADC values and rADC values obtained from ADC maps with renal cortex as the reference organ were measured. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to determine the ADC and rADC cut-off values. Diagnostic values and confidence intervals were obtained. P<0.05 was accepted as the level of statistical significance. Results: The mean ADC values of benign and malignant lesions were 1.66±0.49x10-3 mm2/s and 1.04±0.24x10-3 mm2/s, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of ADC at a cut-off value of 1.149x10-3 mm2/s were 88% and 77%, respectively. The mean rADC was 0.88±0.25 for benign lesions and 0.57±0.15 for malignant lesions. The sensitivity and specificity of the rADC at a cut-off value of 0.62 were 95% and 72%, respectively. Conclusion: rADC was not significantly superior to ADC in the differentiation of benign and malignant lesions. Both ADC and rADC values show high sensitivity and specificity for the differentiation of benign and malignant liver lesions. They are recommended to be used together in cases of suspected malignancy.