Application of intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging on the diagnosis of breast cancer

To explore the application of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) parameters based on mono- and bi-exponential models for diagnosing breast cancer (BC).

43 patients underwent breast magnetic resonance (MR) scanned before operation and the images were transferred to AW Volume Share 5 post-processing workstation. The mono-exponential and bi-exponential model was used to measure the slow diffusion coefficient (DC) (D), fast DC (D*) and fraction of perfusion (f). And the association between different parameter values and BC grading was analyzed via Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient.

The D mono value of 13 patients with benign breast diseases was higher than that of 30 patients with BC (4.04 ± 0.23 vs 2.59 ± 0.64，p<0.05) while there was no statistical significance on the value of D* mono, f mono, D bi, D* bi and f bi. Additionally, the parameter differences of D mono, D* mono, D bi and D* bi had statistical significance between the different BC grades. And the grades of BC had a negative correlation with D mono and D bi while were positively related to D* mono and D* bi. It was most closely related to D* bi than D bi. D mono value in ER-positive were higher than that in ER-negative group (3.09±0.37 vs 1.03±0.09, p=.0095).

IVIM could be used to diagnose BC, predict histological grading and ER expression and provide valuable imaging for the clinical treatment and prognosis of BC patients.