Abstract
Purpose
To compare the apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of myxoid and nonmyxoid soft‐tissue tumors using line‐scan diffusion‐weighted imaging (LSDWI), and to investigate the myxoid matrix influence on ADCs of soft‐tissue tumors.
Materials and Methods
This study enrolled 44 patients with soft tissue tumors. They were divided into two groups: one with myxoid‐containing soft‐tissue tumors (N = 23) and the other with nonmyxoid soft‐tissue tumors (N = 21). The 44 patients were also classified histologically into 26 with malignant soft‐tissue tumors and 18 with benign soft‐tissue tumors. LSDWI was performed using b values of 5 and 1000 second/mm^2^. The ADCs of the tumors were calculated and compared for myxoid and nonmyxoid tumors and for benign and malignant tumors.
Results
The ADC (mean ± SD) was 1.92 ± 0.41 × 10^–3^ mm^2^/second in myxoid containing tumors, whereas the ADC was 0.97 ± 0.33 × 10^–3^ mm^2^/second in nonmyxoid tumors. The ADCs of the myxoid and nonmyxoid tumors were significantly different (P < 0.01). The ADCs were 1.45 ± 0.59 × 10^–3^ mm^2^/second in malignant tumors and 1.50 ± 0.64 × 10^–3^ mm^2^/second in benign tumors. The ADCs of benign and malignant soft‐tissue tumors were not significantly different.
Conclusion
The ADCs of myxoid‐containing soft‐tissue tumors were significantly higher than those of nonmyxoid soft‐tissue tumors. The myxoid matrix influences ADCs of both benign and malignant soft‐tissue tumors. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2007;25:1199–1204. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.