title: Microstructural changes in uterine leiomyomas and myometrium: a diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging study.
abstract: Although morphological and histopathological changes in uterine leiomyomas have been investigated in detail, the microstructural disruptions could not be studied in the living organism. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) is a novel tool to assess microstructural changes in vivo. The aim of this study was to investigate and characterize the diffusional property of leiomyomatous tissues with DWI. Sixteen females with a total of 21 leiomyomas were imaged with a 1.5-tesla clinical MR scanner. DWI images of leiomyomas, adjacent myometrial and myometrial tissues of healthy controls were obtained and quantified using apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps. Mean ADC values of these groups were 1,201, 1,684, 1,661 mm(2)/s x 10(-6), respectively. ADC values in leiomyomas were significantly lower than those observed in the myometrium (p < 0.001). Cut-off values produced 91% sensitivity and 100% specificity. As ADC values implied the presence of cytotoxic edema in leiomyomas, the technique was found to be promising in observing temporal variations in leiomyomas and to monitor even the most subtle effects of therapeutic interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Turgut Ozal Medical Center, Inonu University Medical Faculty, Malatya, Turkey. gerdem@inonu.edu.tr
authors.forename: Gulnur
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Erdem
authors.forename: Onder
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Celik
authors.forename: Hakki Muammer
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Karakas
authors.forename: Seyma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hascalik
authors.forename: Ahmet Kemal
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Firat
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007889:Leiomyoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009215:Myometrium / Q000473:pathology*; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*