Correlation between MRI apparent diffusion coefficient and Gleason scores of prostate cancer

Abstract:

Objective：To study the correlation between apparent diffusion coefficient（ADC） values obtained with diffusion weighted imaging（DWI） and Gleason scores of prostate cancer，and to evaluate the predictive value of ADC for prostate cancer risk. Methods：A retrospective study was performed to 115 patients with prostate cancer confirmed by pathology in Xijing Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University from June 2015 to January 2018. All patients underwent 3.0T MRI scan and DWI examination，with b values of 0 and 2 000 s/mm2，and they were divided into three groups according to Gleason scores，low risk group（Gleason score≤6），intermediate risk group（Gleason score=7） and high risk group（Gleason score≥8）. The ADC values of prostate cancer in each group were analyzed by one-way variance and compared in pairs between groups. Pearson correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between ADC values and Gleason scores. Results：There were 129 regions of interest（ROI） selected from 115 patients，with 29 ROIs of low risk group，48 ROIs of intermediate risk group，and 52 ROIs of high risk group. The mean and standard deviation of the ADC values of the three groups were （1.066±0.111）×10-3 mm2/s，（0.782±0.129）×10-3 mm2/s and （0.667±0.108）×10-3 mm2/s，with statistical significance（F=108.764，P=0.000） between the three groups. Multiple comparisons showed that the differences between any two groups were statistically significant（P=0.000），and the correlation analysis between ADC value and Gleason score showed a significant negative correlation（r=-0.768，P=0.000）. Conclusion：ADC values show a negative correlation with Gleason scores of prostate can－cer，which is expected to predict Gleason scores according to the ADC values.