Comparative analysis of the image quality and diagnostic performance of the zooming technique with diffusion-weighted imaging using different b-values for thyroid papillary carcinomas and benign nodules

• Published in: Frontiers in oncology Vol. 14; p. 1241776
• Main Authors: Jiang, Liling, Chen, Jiao, Tan, Yong, Wu, Jian, Zhang, Junbin, Liu, Daihong, Zhang, Jiuquan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 07-05-2024
• Subjects: b-value; diagnostic performance; diffusion-weighted imaging; image quality; Oncology; thyroid nodule; image quality; thyroid nodule; diagnostic performance; diffusion-weighted imaging; b-value
• ISSN: 2234-943X; 2234-943X
• DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1241776

To compare image quality and diagnostic performance using different b-values for the zooming technique with diffusion-weighted imaging (ZOOMit-DWI) in thyroid nodules.
A total of 51 benign thyroid nodules and 50 thyroid papillary carcinomas were included. ZOOMit-DWI was performed with b-values of 0, 500, 1000, 1500 and 2000 s/mm
. The sharpness was evaluated as subjective index. The signal intensity ratio (SIR), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were measured as objective indices. Pairwise comparisons were performed among the different b-value groups using the
test. A receiver operating characteristic curve of the ADC value was used to evaluate diagnostic performance. The DeLong test was used to compare diagnostic effectiveness among the different b-value groups.
In both the papillary carcinoma group (
= 0.670) and the benign nodule group (
= 0.185), the sharpness of nodules was similar between b-values of 1000 s/mm
and 1500 s/mm
. In the papillary carcinoma group, the SIR
was statistically higher in DWI images with a b-value of 1500 s/mm
than in DWI images with b-values of 500 s/mm
(
= 0.004), 1000 s/mm
(
= 0.002), and 2000 s/mm
(
= 0.003). When the b-values were 1500 s/mm
(
= 0.008) and 2000 s/mm
(
= 0.009), the SIR
significantly differed between the papillary carcinoma group and the benign nodule group. When b = 500 s/mm
, the ADC had an AUC of 0.888. When b = 1000 s/mm
, the ADC had an AUC of 0.881. When b = 1500 s/mm
, the ADC had an AUC of 0.896. When b = 2000 s/mm
, the ADC had an AUC of 0.871. The DeLong test showed comparable diagnostic effectiveness among the different b-value groups except for between b-values of 2000 s/mm
and 1500 s/mm
, with a b-value of 2000 s/mm
showing lower effectiveness.
This study suggests that 1500 s/mm
may be a suitable b-value to differentiate benign and malignant thyroid nodules in ZOOMit-DWI images, which yielded better image quality.