Comparison of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient and Intravoxel Incoherent Motion for Differentiating among Glioblastoma, Metastasis, and Lymphoma Focusing on Diffusion-Related Parameter

<div><p>Background and Purpose</p><p>Brain tumor cellularity has been assessed by using apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). However, the ADC value might be influenced by both perfusion and true molecular diffusion, and the perfusion effect on ADC can limit the reliability of ADC in the characterization of tumor cellularity, especially, in hypervascular brain tumors. In contrast, the IVIM technique estimates parameter values for diffusion and perfusion effects separately. The purpose of our study was to compare ADC and IVIM for differentiating among glioblastoma, metastatic tumor, and primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) focusing on diffusion-related parameter.</p><p>Materials and Methods</p><p>We retrospectively reviewed the data of 128 patients with pathologically confirmed glioblastoma (n = 55), metastasis (n = 31), and PCNSL (n = 42) prior to any treatment. Two neuroradiologists independently calculated the maximum IVIM-f (f_max) and minimum IVIM-D (D_min) by using 16 different b-values with a bi-exponential fitting of diffusion signal decay, minimum ADC (ADC_min) by using 0 and 1000 b-values with a mono-exponential fitting and maximum normalized cerebral blood volume (nCBV_max). The differences in f_max, D_min, nCBV_max, and ADC_min among the three tumor pathologies were determined by one-way ANOVA with multiple comparisons. The f_max and D_min were correlated to the corresponding nCBV and ADC using partial correlation analysis, respectively.</p><p>Results</p><p>Using a mono-exponential fitting of diffusion signal decay, the mean ADC_min was significantly lower in PCNSL than in glioblastoma and metastasis. However, using a bi-exponential fitting, the mean D_min did not significantly differ in the three groups. The mean f_max significantly increased in the glioblastomas (reader 1, 0.103; reader 2, 0.109) and the metastasis (reader 1, 0.105; reader 2, 0.107), compared to the primary CNS lymphomas (reader 1, 0.025; reader 2, 0.023) (<i>P</i> < .001 for each). The correlation between f_max and the corresponding nCBV was highest in glioblastoma group, and the correlation between D_min and the corresponding ADC was highest in primary CNS lymphomas group.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>Unlike ADC value derived from a mono-exponential fitting of diffusion signal, diffusion-related parametric value derived from a bi-exponential fitting with separation of perfusion effect doesn’t differ among glioblastoma, metastasis, and PCNSL.</p>