The role of difussion weighted mri in patients with inoperable lung cancer

The aim of this study is to investigate the value of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in monitoring and predicting lung cancer response to chemotherapy.Twenty-nine patients pathologically diagnosed as lung cancer were included in this study, all of whom received both conventional MRI and DWI examinations one week before and after 3 cykle chemotherapy. The study was conducted between June 2009 - June 2011. Those smaller than 1 cm in diameter were excluded from the study. Diffusion MRI according to RECIST simultaneously with the mass audience response after chemotherapy was evaluated on the basis of the longest dimension. The retrospective study was performed. Diffusion-weighted MR images were acquired with a b factor of 0, 50, and 400 s/mm² using single-shot echo-planarsequence.The mean age was 61.8 years and 25 patients was males and 19 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), while the remaining 8 patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) was diagnosed. The mean ADC value before chemotherapy, 1,98 (± 71) x 10?³ , whereas ADC values after chemotherapy in 2,26 (± 99) x 10?³ , respectively (P> 0.05). The mean ADC value in the diagnosis of NSCLC before chemotherapy, 1,90 (± 61) x 10?³ , while ADC values after chemotherapy 2,11 (± 98) x 10?³ , respectively (P> 0.05). SCLC patients prior to chemotherapy, the mean ADC value was 219 (± 91), whereas ADC values after chemotherapy was 2,63 (± 97) x 10?³ (P> 0.05).Tumor response evaluation was done according to the diameter; chemotherapy responders ADC values before chemotherapy 1,79 (± 51) x 10?³ while the after chemotherapy 2,12 (±81)x10?³ (P>0.05).In our study, despite the increasing ADC values were not significantly different after chemotherapy. These results may have influenced due to limited number of patients and tumor type is not a homogeneous study. ADCs actual role in evaluating response to chemotherapy, we think that are needed to prospective large series