Whole-body magnetic resonance/diffusion-weighted sequence with background signal suppression (WB-MR/DWIBS) vs. 18F-FDG PET/CT in diagnosis of lymphoma

Abstract

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of whole-body magnetic resonance/diffusion-weighted imaging with background signal suppression (WB-MR/DWIBS) method, with that of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT), for lesion detection and initial staging of patients with lymphoma using the histopathologically diagnosis as a reference standard. Results Thirty-two patients with newly pathologically proven lymphoma were enrolled in this prospective study from May 2018 to January 2020 (27 males, 5 females). All patients underwent PET/CT followed by WB-MR/DWIBS as an attempt to compare the performance of both methods for lesion detection and initial staging in patients with lymphoma. The overall sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy of 18F-FDG-PET/CT vs WB-MR/DWIBS in correlation with reference standard data in detection of lymphoma were calculated for PET/CT 96%, 100%, 100%, 80%, and 97% while those of WB-MR/DWIBS were 93%, 76%, 96%, 61%, and 91%, respectively. Conclusion 18F-FDG PET/CT remains the standard reference of imaging in evaluation of lymphoma due to its higher sensitivity and specificity over WB-MR/DWIBS. Future studies with larger cohorts are necessary for better evaluation of the role of WB-MR/DWIBS in lymphoma patients. The current study highlights the potential complementary role of WB-MRI/DWIBS in the context of bone marrow involvement evaluation omitting unnecessary bone marrow biopsy.