The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical utility of a multishot spin–echo
echo–planar (SE–EPI) diffusion-weighted sequence in the diagnostic work-up of soft
tissue tumors. There were 29 patients, 16 with a benign lesion and 13 with a sarcoma.
Four of the sarcomas were examined both before and after radiation therapy. Diffusion-weighted
imaging was performed with a multishot SE–EPI sequence. The b values were 0 and 600 s/mm2. Phase navigation and pulse trigging were applied. The apparent diffusion constant
(ADC) value of a large region of interest (ROI) representing the lesion was measured
and compared with diagnosis and treatment. The ADC values of the benign lesions (mean
1.8×10−3 mm2/s) overlapped with nontreated sarcomas (mean 1.7×10−3 mm2/s). The ADC value increased in all radiated sarcomas. A multishot SE–EPI diffusion
imaging sequence of less than 2-min duration is technically feasible in soft tissue
tumours of the extremities and the trunk. The ADC values of benign soft tissue tumors
and sarcomas overlapped and could not be used to differentiate between the bulk of
benign and malignant tumors. However, the increase in ADC values of soft tissue sarcomas
after radiotherapy warrants further studies of diffusion imaging for evaluating therapy
response.
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Publication history
Published online: October 05, 2004
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Copyright
© 2004 Published by Elsevier Inc.
