title: High-b value diffusion-weighted MRI for detecting pancreatic adenocarcinoma: preliminary results.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of our study was to evaluate the usefulness of high-b value diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) in the detection of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-six patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma were included in the study. Twenty-three other patients who were being followed up due to pancreatic diseases other than adenocarcinoma were included as control subjects. All patients and subjects underwent DWI, and the images were evaluated by three blinded radiologists.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis yielded A(z) values (i.e., area under the ROC curve) of 0.998, 0.998, and 0.995 for the three radiologists. The mean sensitivity and specificity for the detection of pancreatic adenocarcinoma were 96.2% and 98.6%, respectively. The kappa values indicating interobserver agreement between different pairs of radiologists were in the category of excellent.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High-b value DWI allows the detection of pancreatic adenocarcinoma with a high sensitivity and specificity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Yamanashi, Shimokato, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.forename: Sukru Mehmet
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Erturk
authors.forename: Utarou
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Motosugi
authors.forename: Hironobu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sou
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iino
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Araki
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujii
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000465:Algorithms; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity