The Role of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Values in Glioblastoma: Differentiating Tumor Progression Versus Treatment-Related Changes

ObjectiveGlioblastoma represents the most common primary brain malignancy with a median survival of 15 months. Follow-up examinations are crucial to establish the presence of tumor recurrence, as well as treatment-associated changes such as ischemic infarction and radiation effects. Even though magnetic resonance imaging is a valuable tool, a histopathological diagnosis is often required because of imaging overlap between tumor recurrence and treatment associated changes. We set out to measure the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the lesions in magnetic resonance imaging scans of treated glioblastoma patients to investigate if ADC values could accurately differentiate between tumor progression, radiation-related changes, and ischemic infarctions.MethodsWe evaluated ADC values among 3 groups, patients with tumor progression, radiation necrosis, and ischemic infarctions. The regions of interest were placed in the areas of greatest hypointensity among solid lesions using the ADC maps, excluding areas with necrotic, cystic, or hemorrhagic changes. The ADC values of the contralateral normal appearing white matter were also measured as the reference value for each patient. The relative ADC (rADC) values were measured for all 3 groups. Comparison between lesions and normal white matter was evaluated by Wilcoxon signed test.ResultsA total of 157 patients were included in the study; 49 patients classified as tumor progression, 58 patients as radiation necrosis, and 50 patients as ischemic infarctions. The mean +/- SD ADC value was 752.8 +/- 132.5 for tumor progression, 479.0 +/- 105.2 for radiation-related changes, and 250.1 +/- 57.2 for ischemic infarctions. The mean +/- SD rADC value was 1.07 +/- 0.22 for tumor progression, 0.66 +/- 0.14 for radiation necrosis, and 0.34 +/- 0.08 for ischemic infarctions. The mean rADC values were significantly higher in tumor progression, compared with both radiation necrosis and ischemic changes (P < 0.001).ConclusionsThe present study demonstrates that ADC values are a helpful tool to differentiate between tumor progression, radiation necrosis, and posttreatment ischemic changes.