Does diffusion weighted imaging have a prognostic value in differentiating gynecological diseases?
Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values are effective in the diagnosis of different gynecological lesions. A retrospective evaluation was made of 12 patients with uterine cervix carcinoma and 151 patients with uterine lesions, comprising endometrial cancer, endometrial polyps, carcinosarcoma, submucous myoma, adenomyosis, endometrial hyperplasia, gestational trophoblastic neoplasm (GTN), and leiomyomas. As a control group, 20 healthy volunteers with normal endometrium and normal cervix were also evaluated. In three series, one-shot, spin echo, echo planar, b = 1000 s/mm The mean ADC values of Group 1 (Endometrial carcinoma) were lower than those of all the other groups (P < 0.001) and the mean ADC value of group 6 (GTN) was higher than that all other groups (P < 0.001). A statistically significant difference was found between the groups in terms of the lesion-myometrium ADC ratios (P < 0.001). There are few studies in literature related to ADC measurements in GTN. The ADC values of GTN were found to be significantly higher than the other uterine lesions. These results will aid in the design of future studies and might be used to guide management of patients with GTN. Diffusion-weighted MRI seems to be a promising imaging technique in differentiating different uterine lesions.
