Quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI and readout segmentation of long variable echo-trains diffusion-weighted imaging in differentiating parotid gland tumors.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the ability of quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-MRI and readout segmentation of long variable echo-trains diffusion-weighted imaging (RESOLVE-DWI) in differentiating parotid tumors (PTs) with different histological types.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, 123 patients with 145 histologically proven PTs who underwent both RESOLVE-DWI and DCE-MRI were enrolled including 51 pleomorphic adenomas (PAs), 52 Warthin's tumors (WTs), 27 other benign neoplasms (OBNs), and 15 malignant tumors (MTs). Quantitative parameters of DCE-MRI (Ktrans, Kep, and Ve) and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of lesions were calculated and analyzed. Kruskal-Wallis tests with Dunn-Bonferroni correction, logistic regression analyses, and receiver operating characteristic curve were used for statistical analyses.

RESULTS

PAs exhibited a lowest Ktrans among these four PTs. WTs demonstrated the highest Kep and lowest Ve values. WTs and MTs showed lower ADCmin values than PAs and OBNs. The combination of Kep and Ve provided 98.1% sensitivity, 85% specificity, and 98.7% accuracy for differentiating WTs from the other three PTs. The ADCmin cutoff value of ≤ 0.826 yielded 80.0% sensitivity, 92.3% specificity, and 90.3% accuracy for the differentiation of MTs from PAs and OBNs. Ktrans with a cutoff value of ≤ 0.185 achieved a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 84.3, 70.4, and 79.5%, respectively, for discriminating PAs from OBNs.

CONCLUSION

The combination of quantitative DCE-MRI and RESOLVE-DWI is beneficial for characterizing four histological types of PTs.