The Role of Diffusion-Weighted Imaging in Characterizing Benign and Malignant Breast Lesions: A Retrospective Study

Introduction Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a promising magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique for differentiating between benign and malignant breast lesions. This study set out to assess the diagnostic utility of DWI and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in the characterization of breast lesions. Materials and methods A retrospective analysis comprised 30 patients with breast lesions who had breast MRI with DWI. The histopathological findings, ADC readings, and conventional MRI features were all analyzed. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis method was utilized to assess the diagnostic accuracy of DWI. Results Out of the 30 lesions, 22 (73.3%) were benign and eight (26.7%) were malignant. Malignant lesions exhibited significantly lower ADC values (p < 0.001) compared to benign lesions. An ADC cutoff value of 1.1 × 10