Can diffusion weighted imaging distinguish between benign and malignant solid or predominantly solid gynecological adnexal masses?

Abstract

ObjectiveTo determine the benefit of DWI in diagnosis of benign and malignant solid or predominantly solid gynecological adnexal or ovarian masses. Material and MethodsThis study is carried out on 23 patients with histologically proven solid or predominantly solid adnexal or ovarian masses out of which 5 cases (21.8%) have benign and 18 cases (78.2%) have malignant neoplasms. Among these 19 cases (82.6%) have unilateral disease and 4 cases (17.4%) have bilateral disease which was metastatic ovarian carcinoma. ResultOn DWI, high signal intensity is noted in malignant lesion more frequently than in benign lesion. (P<0.001) in adnexal lesions, while in ovarian lesions (P=0.001).The differentiation between benign and malignant adnexal lesions revealed no significant difference in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value (P=0.22). ConclusionDWI is a helpful tool in differentiation between predominantly solid and solid benign and malignant adnexal lesions because there is an increased frequency of higher signal intensity (diffusion restriction) in malignant lesions.