Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) is a potential clinical application for non-contrast tissue characterization and lesion differentiation. It is based on the evaluation of Brownian motion of water molecules and has been related to tissue ultrastructure (irregular interstitium, increased cellularity, etc.) [1-3]. In other regions of our anatomy helps to differentiate normal versus abnormal tissues and benign form malignant lesions [4]. Also has a great value in treatment monitoring, being the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) a well-known prognostic factor [5]. DWI acquisition in the heart is...

Patient selection We retrospectively reviewed all the cardiac MR examinations performed in our institution with suspicion of cardiac mass since 2012. From them 50 had a cardiac or pericardial focal lesion. Inclusion criteria include the presence of focal cardiac or pericardial nodule or mass and diagnostic full left ventricle coverage DWI with high b value (b= 300 s/mm2) acquired in the best plane for lesion evaluation (axial or short axis). Patients were excluded if the MR was of poor quality, absence of DWI acquisition, incomplete...

Patient and lesion demographics From the 18 patients included, 14 were female and 4 were male, with a mean age of 56.2 ± 13.4years. 5 lesions were malignant (2 metastasis, lymphoma and sarcoma) and 13 were benign (6 myxomas, 2 mitral valve casseous necrosis, 2 pericardical cysts, 1 intracavitary thrombus and 1 hydatid cyst). Attending to their composition, 4 lesions were cystic and 14 were solid. Regarding its behavior after gadolinium based contrast, 38.9 % (n=7) of the tumors did not show enhancement. From those...

High b value DWI is feasible and reproducible technique for differentiating benign from malignant cardiac tumors. SI based measurements displayed better diagnostic performance compared to ADC based ones with excellent interobserver agreement.

For further question please send an e-mail to: [email protected] Thank you

1. Le Bihan D, Breton E, Lallemand D, et al (1988) Separation of diffusion and perfusion in intravoxel incoherent motion MR imaging. Radiology 168:497–505 . 2. Le Bihan D (2013) Apparent diffusion coefficient and beyond: what diffusion MR imaging can tell us about tissue structure. Radiology 268:318–22. 3. Le Bihan D, Breton E, Lallemand D, et al (1986) MR imaging of intravoxel incoherent motions: application to diffusion and perfusion in neurologic disorders. Radiology 161:401–7. 4. Padhani AR, Liu G, Koh DM, et al (2009) Diffusion-weighted...