Diffusion-weighted MRI of urinary bladder and prostate cancers.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of diffusion-weighted imaging in the diagnosis of the urinary bladder and prostate carcinomas. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the malignant and normal tissues were correlated.

Materials And Methods: A total of 23 patients with 14 urinary bladder carcinomas and 9 prostate carcinomas, and 50 healthy controls with normal ultrasonographic urinary bladder and prostate gland imaging findings were enrolled in the study. The ADC values were reported as the mean +/- standard deviation. Student's t test was performed to compare the ADC values of the normal and pathological tissues. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) was performed with b factors of 0, 500, and 1000 s/mm(2), and the ADC values of the normal tissues and lesions were calculated.

Results: The mean ADC value of the urinary bladder wall of the control group and bladder carcinomas were (2.08 +/- 0.22 x 10(-3)mm(2)/s) and (0.94 +/- 0.18 x 10(-3)mm(2)/s), respectively. In addition, the ADC values of the normal peripheral (2.07 +/- 0.33 x 10(-3)mm(2)/s), transitional zones (1.46 +/- 0.23 x 10(-3)mm(2)/s) of the prostate, seminal vesicles (2.13 +/- 0.13 x 10(-3)mm(2)/s) and the prostate carcinomas (1.06 +/- 0.17 x 10(-3)mm(2)/s) were calculated. The comparison of mean ADC values of the peripheral-transitional zones of the prostate, normal bladder wall-bladder carcinomas, and peripheral zone prostate carcinomas were statistically significant (P < 0.01).

Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that ADC measurement has a potential ability to differentiate carcinomas from normal bladder wall and prostate gland.