Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of gallbladder adenocarcinoma: analysis with emphasis on histologic grade

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the value of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for differentiating gallbladder adenocarcinoma from adenoma, and predicting histologic grades of gallbladder adenocarcinoma.

Materials and methods: Fourty-three gallbladder adenocarcinomas and 8 adenomas were included. We compared apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values between adenocarcinoma and adenoma, and ADC values of gallbladder adenocarcinoma among the histologic grade.

Results: Gallbladder adenocarcinoma (1.041×10(-3)mm(2)/s) showed significantly lower ADC values than adenoma (2.039×10(-3)mm(2)/s) (P<.001). Well-differentiated adenocarcinoma (1.290×10(-3)mm(2)/s) showed significantly higher ADC values than higher-grades (1.104×10(-3) and 0.915×10(-3)mm(2)/s in moderately- and poorly-differentiated, respectively) (P<.001).

Conclusion: DWI can help to differentiate gallbladder adenocarcinoma from adenoma, and well-differentiated from higher-grade adenocarcinoma.

Keywords: Carcinoma; DWI; Gallbladder; MRI.