Role of diffusion weighted imaging as an adjunct to dynamic contrast enhanced MRI in the characterisation of breast lesions

Abstract

Water is the major composition of the body and MRI takes the advantage of the magnetic properties of the hydrogen nuclei (protons) in the body tissue. Magnetic resonance imaging applies magnetic fields to produce detailed cross-sectional images of tissue structures. A small portion of the protons in the patient body are brought into alignment with a strong magnetic field within the MRI scanner. MR examination was performed on a 1.5 Tesla Philips achieve MR scanner (Philips medical system, Netherlands) using a dedicated 8 channel bilateral breast coil with patients positioned prone and the breasts hanging freely into the cushioned openings which are surrounded by the specialized breast coil, which is a signal receiver and works with the MRI unit to create images. In our study, assessment of breast lesions by DCE MRI ALONE provided a sensitivity of 97.6%, specificity of 80%, positive predictive value was 91.1% and negative predictive value was 94.1%. P value <0.0001. In our study, breast lesions evaluated by a protocol incorporating DWI into conventional DCE MR showed a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 90%, and Positive predictive value of 95.4% and negative predictive value of 100%. P value <0.0001. Measure of agreement (Kappa) is 0.92.