Usefulness of Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging Using Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Values for Diagnosis of Infantile Hemangioma.

Objective The objective of this study was to determine whether apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values obtained from diffusion-weighted imaging allow differentiation between infantile hemangiomas (IHs) and malignant soft tissue tumors. Methods A retrospective review was performed on magnetic resonance images of pediatric patients with IHs and malignant soft tissue tumors from January 2014 to December 2016, which comprised 7 patients with 8 IHs and 6 patients with 6 malignant soft tissue tumors. We calculated and compared the ADC values of each lesion. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to determine a cutoff value for the ADC. Results There was a statistically significant difference between the ADC values of IHs and those of malignant soft tissue tumors (1.32 [1.27-1.72] x 10(-3) mm(2)/s vs 0.67 [0.57-0.79] x 10(-3) mm(2)/s; P < 0.001), with no overlap between the 2 groups. Conclusions The ADC values obtained from diffusion-weighted imaging were useful in differentiating IHs from malignant soft tissue tumors in pediatric patients.