Combined DCE and DW-MRI in the diagnosis of benign and malignant tumors of the tongue

The combination of dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) and diffusion-weighted (DW)-MRI adds important information to the findings obtained through conventional spin echo MRI. We aimed to determine the value of combined DW- and DCE-MRI in distinguishing benign from malignant tumors of the tongue and mouth floor. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were constructed, and the ADC values of the lesions were calculated from DW-MRI. The slopes were derived from time-intensity curves (TICs) from DCE-MRI. The ADC map for malignant tumors was lower compared with the benign lesions. The slope in the malignant tumors was significantly greater compared with the benign lesions. In malignant tumors, the ADC(b=500) threshold of <1.43x10(-3) mm(2)/s yielded a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 74.6%, 83.3%, and 79.7%, respectively. For benign lesions, a slope threshold of <38.6 yielded a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 80.3%, 74.5%, and 77.9%, respectively. Combined DCE- and DW-MR imaging may provide valuable information that allows for the differentiation between benign lesions and malignant tumors of the tongue and mouth floor.