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Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) techniques have shown potential to differentiate between benign and malignant neoplasms. However, the diagnostic significance of using DWI under routine conditions remains unclear. This study investigated the use of echo planar imaging (EPI) and half-Fourier acquired single-shot turbo spin echo (HASTE)-DWI with respect to the three parameters: lesion visibility, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements, and size estimation. Following MRM (1.5 T), EPI- and HASTE-DWI were applied in 65 patients. Lesion visibility on DWI was compared with lesion visibility on subtracted contrast-enhanced T1w images (CE-T1w). Statistical tests were applied to diameter, visibility, and ADC value measurements. Seventy-four lesions were identified. ADC value measurements did not differ significantly between the two DWI sequences. The sensitivity and specificity of routine diagnostics (97.4% and 85.7%) were superior to EPI-DWI (87.2% and 82.9%) and HASTE-DWI (76.9% and 88.6%). Selecting only nonmass lesions, DWI did not prove to be of diagnostic value. Lesion demarcation by DWI was significantly lower compared with that by CE-T1w, with EPI-DWI showing the better performance (p < 0.001). No significant differences were found for size measurements between CE-T1w and DWI. Although clearly inferior compared with CE-T1w imaging, both DWI techniques are applicable for lesion assessment and size measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of magnetic resonance mammography (MRM) to distinguish inflammatory breast carcinomas (IBC) from acute mastitis (AM). This study compared MRM examinations of two selected groups of patients: 48 subjects with IBC and 42 patients with AM. No statistical differences were revealed between the two groups for morphology of masses and of non-mass-like enhancement, breast enlargement, diffuse skin thickening, abnormal nipple configuration, prominent vessels, and also for cutaneous/subcutaneous, perimamillar and diffuse oedema. However, initial and postinitial dynamic characteristics significantly differed between the two groups (p < 0.001). In IBC, more masses with a greater average size were detected (p < 0.05). The following morphological criteria were also observed more often in IBC (p < 0.05): T2-hypointensity of masses (77.5%/18.2%), blooming sign (62.5%/31.8%), infiltration of pectoralis major muscle (interruption of fat plane: 54.2%/16.7%; pathological enhancement: 33.3%/7.1%), perifocal (66.7%/33.3%), prepectoral (72.9%/31.0%) and intramuscular pectoral oedema (41.7%/7.1%). The main localisation of AM was subareolar, of IBC central or dorsal (p < 0.001). The discrimination between AM and IBC remains a diagnostic challenge because of overlapping imaging features. However, the combination of multiple dynamic and morphological MRM criteria seems to have the potential for a differential diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]