Diffusion weighted imaging of the normal breast: reproducibility of apparent diffusion coefficient measurements and variation with menstrual cycle and menopausal status

Abstract

• ADC values from fibroglandular breast tissue are measured reproducibly by multiple observers. • Mean ADC values were significantly lower in postmenopausal than premenopausal breast tissue. • Mean ADC values did not vary significantly with menstrual cycle. • Low postmenopausal ADC values may hinder tumour detection on DW-MRI.

Diffusion tensor imaging of breast lesions: evaluation of apparent diffusion coefficient and fractional anisotropy and tissue cellularity

“…Second, ROI is another influencing factor because of the heterogeneity of the breast tissue. 23,26,27 As for cellularity, tumour cells are not homogeneously distributed in the whole tumour. As is always the case, the ROIs in ADC and FA maps cannot be precisely corresponded to the FOVs for calculating the cellularity in the specimens; it will influence the evaluation of the correlation between ADC, FA and cellularity.…”

Improving malignancy prediction in breast lesions with the combination of apparent diffusion coefficient and dynamic contrast-enhanced kinetic descriptors

“…31,32 For the purpose of this study, exclusion criteria were applied to patients (1) who had lesions that were biopsied before the MRI examination (n¼7); (2) subjected to breast surgery within <6 months (n¼6); (3) undergoing radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy within the previous 48 months (n¼5); (4) with only simple cystic lesions (n¼6); (5) who had completed hormone-replacement therapy within <24 months (n¼3); (6) with breast implants (n¼1); and (7) whose images had motion artefacts (n¼3).…”

Assessment and quantification of sources of variability in breast apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements at diffusion weighted imaging

“…The development of standardized interpretation criteria requires an understanding of the effect of biological variability on the range of ADC values encountered in normal breast and breast lesions [11] but also of the effect of measurement error. To date, there have been numerous studies considering the influence of scan sequence and parameters [12][13][14], but there is little data available on the repeatability of ADC quantification in the breast.…”