Abstract
Purpose:
To evaluate the stepwise approach in differentiating between benign and malignant salivary gland tumors using time‐intensity curves (TICs) and apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs).
Materials and Methods:
TICs and ADCs were analyzed on the tumor‐by‐tumor (overall) and pixel‐by‐pixel (TIC and ADC maps) bases in patients with benign (n = 52) or malignant (n = 18) salivary gland tumor. TICs were categorized into Types 1 (<20% increment ratio), 2 (≥20% increment ratio and >120 sec peak time), 3 (≥20% increment ratio, ≤120 sec peak time, and <30% washout ratio), or 4 (≥20% increment ratio, ≤120 sec peak time, and ≥30% washout ratio). ADCs were classified as extremely low (<0.6 × 10^−3^ mm^2^/sec), low (<1.2), intermediate (<1.8), or high (≥1.8).
Results:
Malignant tumors had small (<30%) areas with Type 1 TIC with one of the following magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics: Type 3 overall TIC patterns, Type 4 overall TIC patterns and extremely low (<0.60 × 10^−3^ mm^2^/sec) overall ADCs, or Type 2 overall TIC patterns and large (>40%) areas with low or extremely low ADCs.
Conclusion:
We propose a stepwise approach by using multiparametric MRI techniques as an effective tool for differentiating between benign and malignant salivary gland tumors J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2010;31:673–679. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.