Feasibility of diffusion‐weighted imaging in the differentiation of metastatic from nonmetastatic lymph nodes: Early experience

Abstract

Purpose To investigate the feasibility of diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI) in the differentiation of metastatic from nonmetastatic lymph nodes. Materials and Methods In 125 patients who underwent lymph node dissection for uterine cervical cancer, DWI was performed at b value of 0 and 1000 s/mm². By referring to the surgical maps of the pelvic lymph nodes, the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was compared in the metastatic and nonmetastatic lymph nodes, and receiver‐operating‐characteristics analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the ADC in differentiating metastatic from nonmetastatic lymph nodes. Results The ADC were significantly lower in the metastatic lymph nodes (0.7651 × 10⁻³ mm²/s ± 0.1137) than in the nonmetastatic lymph nodes (1.0021 × 10⁻³ mm²/s ± 0.1859; P < 0.001). The area‐under‐the‐curve of ADC for differentiating metastatic from nonmetastatic lymph nodes, was 0.902. The sensitivity and specificity of ADC for differentiating metastatic from nonmetastatic lymph nodes, were 87% for the ADC and 80%, respectively. Conclusion DWI is feasible for differentiating metastatic from nonmetastatic lymph nodes in patients with uterine cervical cancer. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2008;28:714–719.