Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Radiol. Jul 28, 2015; 7(7): 149-156
Published online Jul 28, 2015. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v7.i7.149
Diffusion-weighted and diffusion-tensor imaging of normal and diseased uterus
Duygu Kara Bozkurt, Murat Bozkurt, Mehmet Ali Nazli, Ilhan Nahit Mutlu, Ozgur Kilickesmez
Duygu Kara Bozkurt, Depatment of Radiology, School of Medicine, Kafkas University, 36000 Kars, Turkey
Murat Bozkurt, Depatment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Kafkas University, 36000 Kars, Turkey
Mehmet Ali Nazli, Ilhan Nahit Mutlu, Ozgur Kilickesmez, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Istanbul Training and Research Hospital, 34098 Samatya, Istanbul, Turkey
Author contributions: Kara Bozkurt D and Kilickesmez O had equally contributed to this paper; Kara Bozkurt D and Bozkurt M wrote the paper; Nazli MA and Mutlu IN collected the figures and the literatures; Kilickesmez O approved the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There’s no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Ozgur Kilickesmez, MD, Assocıate Professor of Radiology, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Istanbul Training and Research Hospital, Org. Nafiz Gurman St, 34098 Samatya, Istanbul, Turkey. okilickesmez@yahoo.com
Telephone: +90-532-7346196 Fax: +90-216-4693796
Received: February 9, 2015
Peer-review started: February 9, 2015
First decision: March 20, 2015
Revised: April 25, 2015
Accepted: May 7, 2015
Article in press: May 8, 2015
Published online: July 28, 2015
Abstract

Owing to technical advances and improvement of the software, diffusion weighted imaging and diffusion tensor imaging (DWI and DTI) greatly improved the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the pelvic region. These imaging sequences can exhibit important tissue contrast on the basis of random diffusion (Brownian motion) of water molecules in tissues. Quantitative measurements can be done with DWI and DTI by apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) values respectively. ADC and FA values may be changed by various physiological and pathological conditions providing additional information to conventional MRI. The quantitative DWI assists significantly in the differentiation of benign and malignant lesions. It can demonstrate the microstructural architecture and celluler density of the normal and diseased uterine zones. On the other hand, DWI and DTI are useful for monitoring the treatment outcome of the uterine lesions. In this review, we discussed advantages of DWI and DTI of the normal and diseased uterus.

Keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging, Diffusion weighted imaging, Diffusion tensor imaging, Uterus

Core tip: Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) sequences greatly improved the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance imaging of the uterus with the additional benefits of functional information. They reflect the microstructural architecture and cellular density of the uterine zones and enable quantitative evaluation. Depending on this review, DWI and DTI appear to be applicable and reliable methods for demonstrating physiological changes of the uterus, benign and malignant characteristics of uterine zones and monitoring the treatment outcome of the uterine diseases.