Review
Copyright ©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Radiol. Jun 28, 2014; 6(6): 344-354
Published online Jun 28, 2014. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v6.i6.344
Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in management of bladder cancer, particularly with multimodal bladder-sparing strategy
Soichiro Yoshida, Fumitaka Koga, Shuichiro Kobayashi, Hiroshi Tanaka, Shiro Satoh, Yasuhisa Fujii, Kazunori Kihara
Soichiro Yoshida, Fumitaka Koga, Shuichiro Kobayashi, Yasuhisa Fujii, Kazunori Kihara, Department of Urology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Graduate School, Tokyo 113-8677, Japan
Fumitaka Koga, Department of Urology, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Diseases Center Komagome Hospital, Tokyo 113-0021, Japan
Hiroshi Tanaka, Shiro Satoh, Department of Radiology, Ochanomizu Surugadai Clinic, Tokyo 101-0062, Japan
Author contributions: Yoshida S, Kobayashi S, Tanaka H, Satoh S, Fujii Y and Kihara K contributed to conception; Yoshida S and Koga F wrote the paper.
Correspondence to: Fumitaka Koga, MD, PhD, Department of Urology, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious diseases Center Komagome Hospital, 3-18-22 Honkomagome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8677, Japan. f-koga@cick.jp
Telephone: +81-3-38232101 Fax: +81-3-38241552
Received: December 29, 2013
Revised: April 10, 2014
Accepted: May 14, 2014
Published online: June 28, 2014
Core Tip

Core tip: Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) is a functional imaging increasingly applied in the management of bladder cancer. This imaging offers unique information reflecting physiological character of the tissues by quantifying the diffusion of water molecules. DW-MRI provides accurate information for the diagnosis of bladder cancer in a noninvasive manner. Furthermore, growing evidence has emerged showing that DW-MRI can serve as an imaging biomarker of bladder cancer for assessing biologic aggressiveness and therapeutic sensitivity and for monitoring the therapeutic response. This review focuses on the potential role of DW-MRI in multimodal organ-preservation strategies for bladder cancer.