Differentiation of olfactory neuroblastomas from nasal squamous cell carcinomas using MR diffusion kurtosis imaging and dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI

<jats:sec><jats:title>Purpose</jats:title><jats:p>To evaluate the use of magnetic resonance (MR) diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and dynamic contrast‐enhanced MR imaging (DCE‐MRI) in the differentiation of olfactory neuroblastomas (ONBs) from squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Materials and Methods</jats:title><jats:p>DKI and DCE‐MRI were performed in 17 patients with ONBs and 23 patients with SCCs on a 3T MR scanner. Parameters derived from DKI and DCE‐MRI were measured and compared between ONBs and SCCs using an independent samples<jats:italic>t</jats:italic>‐test. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive values (PPV), negative predictive values (NPV), and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were determined.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>The mean kurtosis (K) value of ONBs was significantly higher than that of SCCs (<jats:italic>P</jats:italic>< 0.001), and the mean fractional volume in the extravascular extracellular space (V<jats:sub>e</jats:sub>) value of ONBs was lower than that of SCCs (<jats:italic>P</jats:italic>< 0.001). The ROC curve analyses yielded a cutoff K value of 0.953, with a sensitivity of 94.1%, a specificity of 69.6%, and an accuracy of 80.0%; the cutoff V<jats:sub>e</jats:sub>value was 0.493, with a sensitivity of 70.6%, a specificity of 95.7%, and an accuracy of 85.0%. A parallel test with K value >0.953 or V<jats:sub>e</jats:sub>value ≤0.493 achieved a sensitivity of 94.1%, a specificity of 100.0%, and an accuracy of 97.5% for differentiating ONBs from SCCs.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title><jats:p>The K value of DKI and V<jats:sub>e</jats:sub>value of DCE‐MRI have potential use in the differentiation of ONBs and SCCs.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Level of Evidence:</jats:bold>3</jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Technical Efficacy:</jats:bold>Stage 2</jats:p><jats:p>J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:354–361.</jats:p></jats:sec>