Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) in oral and maxillofacial lesions, especially the utility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps for differential diagnosis of these lesions.
Methods: Fifty-seven patients who underwent magnetic resonance imaging for diagnosis of oral and maxillofacial lesions were included in this prospective study. DWI was performed on a 1.5 T unit with b-factors of 0 and 800 s/mm2, and ADC maps were generated. ADC values were measured for all 57 oral and maxillofacial lesions (19 squamous cell carcinoma, 10 medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw, 6 odontogenic abscess, 4 ranula, 4 osteoradionecrosis, 4 hemangioma, 3 pleomorphic adenoma, 3 odontogenic keratocyst, 2 nasopalatine duct cyst, 1 malignant melanoma, and 1 basal cell carcinoma).
Results: The mean ADC values for ranula (2.69 ± 0.59 × 10-3 mm2/s) and nasopalatine duct cyst (2.34 ± 0.12 × 10-3 mm2/s) were significantly higher than those for the other oral and maxillofacial lesions (p = 0.000). In contrast, the mean ADC value for odontogenic abscess (0.67 ± 0.36 × 10-3 mm2/s) was significantly lower than those for the other oral and maxillofacial lesions (p = 0.000).
Conclusions: The present study suggests the usefulness of DWI in oral and maxillofacial lesions, especially the utility of ADC maps for differential diagnosis of these lesions.
Keywords: Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging; Head and neck neoplasms; Squamous cell carcinoma.