Value of apparent diffusion coefficient for predicting malignancy of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas

PURPOSE We aimed to explore the potential value of the whole tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for discriminating between benign and malignant intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) of the pancreas. METHODS Forty-two patients underwent 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging that included diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI, b=0.500 s/mm(2)). The mean, minimum, and maximum ADC values were measured for the whole tumor. The differences between benign and malignant IPMNs were calculated for the mean ADC, ADC-min, and ADC-max values. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis was conducted to evaluate their potential diagnostic performance. RESULTS Fifteen of 25 benign IPMNs demonstrated low or iso-signal intensity on DWI with a b value of 500 s/mm(2) compared with normal pancreatic parenchyma, whereas all malignant IPMNs demonstrated high signal intensity. The mean value of ADC was significantly higher in benign IPMNs compared with malignant IPMNs (3.39x10-3 mm(2)/s vs. 2.39x10-3 mm(2)/s, P < 0.001), with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.92 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.79-0.98). The ADC-min value of malignant IPMNs was also significantly lower than that of benign IPMNs (1.24x10(-3) mm(2)/s vs. 2.58x10(-3) mm(2)/s, P < 0.001), with an AUC of 0.94 (95% CI, 0.82-0.99). No marked difference was found between benign and malignant IPMNs for the ADC-max value (3.89x10(-3) mm(2)/s vs. 3.78x10(-3) mm(2)/s, P = 0.299). CONCLUSION Lower mean and minimum ADC values of the whole tumor might be potential predictors of malignant IPMNs of the pancreas.