Associations Between Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Value With Pathological Type, Histologic Grade, and Presence of Lymph Node Metastases of Esophageal Carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the application value of apparent diffusion coefficient value in the pathological type, histologic grade, and presence of lymph node metastases of esophageal carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty-six patients with pathologically confirmed esophageal carcinoma were divided into different groups according to pathological type, histological grade, and lymph node status. All patients underwent conventional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging scan, and apparent diffusion coefficient values of tumors were measured. Independent sample t test and 1-way variance were used to compare the difference of apparent diffusion coefficient value in different pathological types, histologic grades, and lymph node status. Correlation between the apparent diffusion coefficient value and the histologic grade was evaluated using Spearman rank correlation test. Receiver operating characteristic curve of apparent diffusion coefficient value was generated to evaluate the differential diagnostic efficiency of poorly and well/moderately differentiated esophageal carcinoma. RESULTS: No significant difference was observed in apparent diffusion coefficient value between esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma and in patients between those with and without lymph node metastases (P > .05). The differences of apparent diffusion coefficient value were statistically significant between different histologic grades of esophageal carcinoma (P < .05). The apparent diffusion coefficient value was positively correlated with histologic grade (rs = 0.802). The apparent diffusion coefficient value ≤1.25 × 10(−3) mm(2)/s as the cutoff value for diagnosis of poorly differentiated esophageal carcinoma with the sensitivity of 84.3%, and the specificity was 94.3%. CONCLUSIONS: The performance of apparent diffusion coefficient value was contributing to predict the histologic grade of esophageal carcinoma, which might increase lesions characterization before choosing the best therapeutic alternative. However, they do not correlate with pathological type and the presence of lymph node metastases of esophageal carcinoma.