Evaluating tumors and tumorlike lesions of the nasal cavity, the paranasal sinuses, and the adjacent skull base with diffusion-weighted MRI.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship of apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) to the malignant degree and the histopathological features of the lesions in the nasal cavity, the paranasal sinuses, and the adjacent skull base.


METHODS
We evaluated the differences of the ADCs between the malignancies (n=18) and the benign lesions (n=6). The correlations between lesion ADCs and lesion cellularity, stroma, and necrosis were calculated.


RESULTS
The ADCs of the malignancies were significantly lower than the benign lesions (P<0.0125). The ADCs were inversely correlated with tumor cellularity (P<0.01, r=-0.556).


CONCLUSIONS
ADCs provide quantitative information that has limited utility in the differential diagnosis between malignant and benign lesions. The correlation of the histopathology of a lesion with ADCs is quite complex and affected by numerous tumor components besides cellularity including keratin, collagen, myxoid stroma, and necrosis.
White
Matthew L
ML
Department of Radiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha 68198, USA. matthewwhite@unmc.edu
Zhang
Yan
Y
Robinson
Robert A
RA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009296:Nasal Cavity; D009669:Nose Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D010255:Paranasal Sinus Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D019292:Skull Base Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology