Assessment of response of uterine fibroids and myometrium to embolization using diffusion-weighted echoplanar MR imaging.

Our objective was to evaluate the role of echoplanar diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps in the assessment of response of uterine fibroids and myometrium to uterine fibroid embolization (UFE). We evaluated 32 fibroids in 11 patients treated with UFE. Treated lesions had low ADC values compared to untreated lesions. Furthermore, ADC values of the myometrium did not significantly change after embolization, suggesting maintained myometrial viability after embolization. DWI and ADC maps, by providing functional information at a cellular level, may serve as imaging tools for assessing treatment response after UFE.