Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) Value: A Potential Imaging Biomarker That Reflects the Biological Features of Rectal Cancer

OBJECTIVE: We elected to analyze the correlation between the pre-treatment apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and the clinical, histological, and immunohistochemical status of rectal cancers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-nine rectal cancer patients who received surgical resection without neoadjuvant therapy were selected that underwent primary MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Tumor ADC values were determined and analyzed to identify any correlations between these values and pre-treatment CEA or CA19-9 levels, and/or the histological and immunohistochemical properties of the tumor. RESULTS: Inter-observer agreement of confidence levels from two separate observers was suitable for ADC measurement (k = 0.775). The pre-treatment ADC values of different T stage tumors were not equal (p = 0.003). The overall trend was that higher T stage values correlated with lower ADC values. ADC values were also significantly lower for the following conditions: tumors with the presence of extranodal tumor deposits (p = 0.006) and tumors with CA19-9 levels ≥ 35 g/ml (p = 0.006). There was a negative correlation between Ki-67 LI and the ADC value (r = -0.318, p = 0.026) and between the AgNOR count and the ADC value (r = -0.310, p = 0.030). CONCLUSION: Significant correlations were found between the pre-treatment ADC values and T stage, extranodal tumor deposits, CA19-9 levels, Ki-67 LI, and AgNOR counts in our study. Lower ADC values were associated with more aggressive tumor behavior. Therefore, the ADC value may represent a useful biomarker for assessing the biological features and possible relationship to the status of identified rectal cancers.