Cystic Ovarian Lesions in SSFP Diffusion Imaging

Abstract

Purpose: MR assessments of ovarian cystic lesions are usually based on morphological features, signal intensities and enhancement with contrast media. This study was performed to evaluate the usefulness of the steady-state free precession (SSFP) diffusion imaging of cystic ovarian lesions for analyzing cystic contents.
Materials and Methods: Sixty-one ovarian cystic lesions in 37 patients were examined. The diffusion-related coefficient (DRC) and the ratio of the relative apparent diffusion coefficient of the lesion to that of subcutaneous fat tissue (rADC_L/rADC_F) were calculated from SSFP diffusion images.
Results: The DRCs and the rADC_L/rADC_F ratios in endometrial cysts and in the fatty parts of dermoid cysts were significantly lower than in other cystic tumors.
Conclusion: SSFP diffusion imaging can be included in clinical practice to analyze ovarian cystic lesions within a short scan time; the DRC and the rADC_L/rADC_F ratio are useful for evaluating cystic contents.