Role of Diffusion-Weighted MRI in Diagnosis and Post Therapeutic Follow-Up of Colorectal Cancer

Background The colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the deadliest cancers in the world. Local tumor stage, vascular or lymphatic invasion, and tumor grade are essential for accurate management. The main imaging modality for initial assessment and therapeutic response evaluation of CRC is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The purpose of this prospective study was to illustrate the role of diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value in initial assessment and grading of colorectal carcinoma as well as evaluation of its response to chemotherapy or combined chemoradiation. Results Restricted diffusion in DWI was found in 37 out of 40 patients with sensitivity of about 92.5%. In the studied group, the median ADC value was 1.21 (min 0.80, max 1.31) and the average ADC value was 1.14 ± 0.161. The mean ADC value in poorly differentiated tumors was 0.979 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s. The mean ADC value in moderately differentiated tumors was 1.112 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s. The mean ADC value in well-differentiated tumors was 1.273 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy were higher with addition of DWI and ADC value to conventional MRI reaching 100%, 80%, 83.3%, 100%, and 90%, respectively. Conclusion Adding DW imaging with ADC value to conventional MRI yields better diagnostic accuracy than using conventional MR imaging alone in detection, correlation with tumor histologic grade, initial staging, and response evaluation to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in patients with locally advanced colorectal cancer.