Value of intravoxel incoherent motion in assessment of pathological grade of clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Background Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) can provide a unique view of tissue perfusion without the use of exogenous contrast agents. Purpose To investigate the value of IVIM in assessing grades of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CRCC). Material and Methods A total of 107 patients with pathologically proven CRCC were included, 26 with grade I, 27 with grade II, 25 with grade III, and 29 with grade IV. These tumors were divided into low (I + II) and high grades (III + IV). Nine b values (0, 30, 50, 80, 150, 300, 500, 800, and 1500 s/mm2) were used in diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). The tissue diffusivity (D), pseudodiffusivity (D*), and perfusion fraction (f) were calculated using bi-exponential fitting of the diffusion data. Results The D values of the four groups were 1.83 ± 0.38, 1.23 ± 0.19, 1.07 ± 0.26, and 0.37 ± 0.11 × 10–3 mm2/s ( P < 0.05). The D* values of the four groups were 0.079 ± 0.021, 0.053 ± 0.019, 0.047 ± 0.022, and 0.033 ± 0.017 ( P < 0.05). The f values of the four groups were 0.208 ± 0.09, 0.341 ± 0.12, 0.373 ± 0.15, and 0.461 ± 0.17 ( P < 0.05). Both the D and D* values correlated negatively with CRCC grading ( r = –0.677 and –0.693, P < 0.05). The f values correlated positively with CRCC grading (r = 0.699, P < 0.05). The areas of the D, D*, and f values under the ROC curves to diagnose low and high CRCC grades were 0.934, 0.837, and 0.793, respectively. The cutoff values of D, D*, and f were 1.13, 0.056, and 0.376, respectively; the diagnostic performance for low and high CRCC grading had a sensitivity of 82.0%, 80.7%, and 83.2% and a specificity of 90.8%, 86.3%, and 82.6%. Conclusion IVIM may provide information for differentiating CRCC grades.