Abstract：Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of diffusion-weighted imaging（DWI） and apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC) in diagnosis of cervical cancer. Methods and Materials: Twelve female patients with cervical cancer and 15 female patients without cervical disease were included in this study. Preoperative MRI examinations were performed at a Philips 1.5T MR scanner. In addition to routine T1WI and T2WI, DWI with b factor of 0 and 800s/mm2 was also performed. ADC values of different zones of the uterine cervix were compared. The signal intensity ratio(SIR) between cervical cancer and internal obturator muscle in DWI was compared with those in T1WI and T2WI. The ADC values of tumor and normal cervical tissue were measured respectively and were compared. Results: The three zones of cervix can be distinguished in 75% of the normal cervix on DWI, while increased to 100% on ADC map, the ADC values of cervical endometrium, conjunctive zone and muscular layer was (1.83±0.37)×10-3, (1.23±0.24)×10-3 and (1.87±0.24)×10-3mm2/s respectively. All the cervical cancer appeared high signal intensity without clear layers of the cervix as compared with normal cervical tissue, and the ADC value of tumor was statistically lower (0.86±0.08)×10-3mm2/s than that of normal tissue. The SIR between cervical cancer and internal obturator muscle on DWI, T1WI and T2WI was 2.97±0.69, 0.06±0.02 and 1.96±0.32 respectively with statistical difference. Conclusion: DWI and ADC measurement has a potential ability to differentiate between cancer and normal tissue of the uterine cervix.
2008, Vol. 19 
