Contribution of diffusion-weighted ımaging to diagnosis and staging of cervical cancer

Abstract

Background: Cervical cancer is the second most common female ma- lignancy worldwide. Although its incidence has decreased in devel- oped countries due to screening with Papanicolaou test, it is still the leading cause of cancer-related female death in developing countries. Aims: The aim of this study was to determine whether the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements calculated from diffusion- weighted imaging (DWI) images had any contribution in differentia- tion of normal cervical tissue from malignant lesions preoperatively, and whether there was a correlation between the mean ADC values and tumor type, grade, or stage in malignant lesions. Study Design: Case-control study. Methods: Mean ADC values in 25 patients who had cervical cancer proved histopathologically, and 20 patients with otherwise normal uter- us were compared. Also in the study group, mean ADC values were compared between histopathologic subtypes, tumor grades, and stages. Results: In the study group the mean ADC values (0.96±0.15x10- 3 mm2/s) were statistically lower than that of the control group (1.67±0.17x10-3 mm2/s) (p0.05). There was also no significant difference between the mean ADC values of the tumor grades (p>0.05). The mean ADC values in early stage cervical cancer (0.86±0.05x10-3 mm2/s) were significantly lower than the mean ADC values in late stage disease (0.98±0.06x10-3 mm2/s) (p