The value of diffusion kurtosis imaging and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in the differential diagnosis of parotid gland tumors.

BACKGROUND

Parotid gland tumors (PGTs) are the most common benign tumors of salivary gland tumors. However, the diagnostic value of relative values of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) parameters for PGTs has not been extensively studied. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of combined DKI and DCE-MRI for differentiating PGTs by introducing the concept of relative value.

METHODS

The DCE-MRI and DKI imaging data of 142 patients with PGTs between June 2018 and August 2022 were collected. Patients were divided into four groups by histopathology: malignant tumors (MTs), pleomorphic adenomas (PAs), Warthin tumors (WTs), and basal cell adenomas (BCAs). All MRI examinations were conducted using a 3 T MRI scanner with a 20-channel head and neck coil. Quantitative parameters of DCE-MRI and DKI and their relative values were determined. Kruskal-Wallis test, post-hoc test with Bonferroni correction, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc test with least significant difference (LSD) method, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used for statistical analysis. Statistical significance was set at P<0.05.

RESULTS

Only the combination of DKI and DCE-MRI parameters could reliably distinguish BCAs from other PGTs. PAs demonstrated the lowest transfer constant from plasma to extravascular extracellular space (K) value [0.09 (0.06, 0.20) min], relative K (rK) [-0.24 (-0.64, 1.00)], rate constant from extravascular extracellular space to plasma (K) value [0.32 (0.22, 0.53) min], relative K (rK) [0.32 (0.22, 0.53) min], and initial area under curve (iAUC) value [0.15 (0.09, 0.26) mmol·s/kg] compared with WTs, BCAs, and MTs (all P<0.05). The K values for MTs were substantially lower [0.17 (0.10, 0.31) min] than those for WTs (P=0.01). The K values for MTs [0.71 (0.52, 1.28) min] were substantially lower (all P<0.05) than those for WTs and BCAs. PAs and BCAs had higher diffusion coefficient (D) values and lower diffusion kurtosis (K) values and relative K (rK) values than MTs and WTs. However, the D and K values did not differ significantly even in their relative values of PAs and BCAs (all P>0.05). By using logistic regression, the combination of K value and rK value further enhanced their discriminatory power between PAs and WTs [area under the ROC curve (AUC), 0.986], the combination of K and rK value further enhanced their discriminatory power between PAs and MTs (AUC, 0.915), and the combination of D and K value further enhanced their discriminatory power between BCAs and MTs (AUC, 0.909).

CONCLUSIONS

DKI and DCE-MRI can be used to differentiate PGTs quantitatively and can complement each other. The combined use of DKI and DCE-MRI parameters can improve the diagnostic accuracy of distinguishing PGTs.