The value of diffusion-weighted imaging in the diagnosis of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to assess apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values associated with medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (MRONJ) at each stage of the disease compared to controls.

STUDY

DESIGN

The magnetic resonance imaging data of 38 patients in the 4 stages of MRONJ and 10 controls were analyzed. Mean ADC values of bone marrow in the controls and patients in each stage of MRONJ were calculated. The significance of differences was analyzed by using the Kruskal-Wallis test and post-hoc Mann-Whitney tests with Bonferroni adjustment. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to distinguish controls from MRONJ stage 0. P < .05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

The mean ADC values of controls and stages 0 to 3 were significantly different, with the lowest value in the controls (P < .001). ROC analysis revealed a cutoff ADC value of 1.06 × 10-3 mm2/s to distinguish between the control group and MRONJ stage 0 patients, producing values of sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and area under the ROC curve ranging from 0.89 to 0.94.

CONCLUSIONS

The ADC values of bone marrow affected by MRONJ are significantly different among controls and stages 0 to 3. ADC values may be useful for distinguishing normal from MRONJ stage 0.