Benign or Malignant Characterization of Soft-Tissue Tumors by Using Semiquantitative and Quantitative Parameters of Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of the semiquantitative and quantitative parameters of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) in differentiating between benign and malignant soft-tissue tumors. Methods: A total of 45 patients with pathologically confirmed soft-tissue tumors (15 benign and 30 malignant tumors) underwent DCE-MRI. The semiquantitative parameters assessed were as follows: time to peak (TTP), maximum concentration (MAX Conc), area under the curve of time-concentration curve (AUC-TC), and maximum rise slope (MAX Slope). Quantitative DCE-MRI was analyzed with the extended Tofts-Kety model to assess the following quantitative parameters: volume transfer constant (Ktrans), microvascular permeability reflux constant (Kep), and distribute volume per unit tissue volume (Ve). Data were evaluated using the independent t test or Mann-Whitney U test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: The TTP (P =.0035), MAX Conc (P =.0018), AUC-TC (P =.0018), MAX Slope (P =.0018), Ktrans (P =.0018), and Kep (P =.0035) were significantly different between the benign and malignant soft-tissue tumors. The AUC of the ROC curve demonstrated the diagnostic potential of TTP (0.778), MAX Conc (0.849), AUC-TC (0.831), MAX Slope (0.847), Ktrans (0.836), Kep (0.778), and Ve (0.638). Conclusions: The use of semiquantitative and quantitative parameters of DCE-MRI enabled differentiation between benign and malignant soft-tissue tumors. The values of TTP were lower, while those of MAX Conc, AUC-TC, MAX Slope, Ktrans, and Kep were higher in malignant than in benign tumors.